Mom Holds Her Newborn Triplets for the 1st Time, Unaware She’ll Never See Them Again

Cassie Rot and her husband Joey Rot did everything right, and things seemed to go smoothly when they discovered they were pregnant. The couple performed the necessary tests and tried their best to ensure a peaceful pregnancy—or so they thought.

Joey and Cassie were soon told she was having a high-risk pregnancy as she was carrying triplets. Doctors advised the couple to induce labor early with a fertility drug, but the expectant mother didn’t want to and chose to carry her babies until 34 weeks. In her third trimester, the Kansas mother temporarily moved from their rural farmhouse to Wichita to be closer to medical help in case she needed it.

Cassie had to undergo a C-section on January 29, 2016, to welcome her three healthy babies at 34 weeks. Joey’s children were held back in the hospital under strict observation, while his wife made a quick recovery and was discharged two days later. However, the woman who had just given birth woke to a sharp pain in her chest. Her heart was racing, signaling that something was amiss. The father of five rushed his wife to a hospital, and after a CT scan, a blood clot was discovered in her lungs.

Doctors performed more tests, and after spending two days at the hospital, she was discharged. Cassie and her husband thought they were in the clear and went to the NICU to visit Asher, Piper, and Levi for a few hours. The happy parents then drove two and a half hours back to Clay Center, where their Kansas farmhouse was located. Joey and his wife were looking forward to being met with more joy by their two older daughters: Chloe, then six, and Tenley, then two.

Little did the pair know that their happiness would be short-lived, and a dark cloud was hanging overhead. Cassie and her husband’s triplets were left behind in the NICU when they returned home, expecting to go right back to the hospital for their children the next day. Thrilled to be home again after her second hospital stay in such a short period, Joey’s wife got right back into her normal routine as a mother. The energetic woman did laundry, pumped breast milk, folded baby clothes, and even baked cookies.

Later, Joey went to pick up their older children from daycare. Getting them excited, he told them there was a surprise waiting at home. Cassie’s reunion with her older children was incredibly emotional, with tears and hugs being shared all around. Chloe and Tenley were elated to see their mother, and she couldn’t help but feel immense joy at being reunited with her babies.

The celebration was tragically cut short when Cassie started feeling chest pain several minutes later. She sat down to rest, but Joey quickly got her into their car and made for the nearest hospital. When her symptoms persisted, he drove as fast as he could. The situation turned dire when his wife lost consciousness in the passenger seat next to him. She never opened her eyes again.

Speaking about the tragedy, Joey said:

“My emotions were numb. It didn’t feel real at all. It was for sure the worst moment of my life.”

The doctors tried their best at the hospital, and so did Joey, but nothing worked. Cassie was lost forever. The doting husband said at the time:

“I was trying to wake her up. The doctors worked on her for a long time, but there wasn’t a whole lot they could do.”

Cassie’s sudden death was not easy on those she left behind. Joey described her as perfect—one of those special people who loved others and was always willing to help them feel better. She worked as a secretary at the local elementary school and was known to help the children whenever they needed something, sometimes at her own expense. Dealing with her demise was incredibly tough, especially for their daughters. Joey admitted that one of the girls always talked about her mother and how she had gone to heaven.

Things were undeniably difficult for Joey, who had suddenly become both a father and a mother to five children, three of whom needed constant care and attention. He had to process his mourning between changing diapers, preparing food, and playing with his kids. As time passed, he would often wonder what Cassie would do whenever a problem arose. One day, he realized she would have told him to step up to his responsibilities, as it was now entirely up to him to raise the children in his own way.

Fortunately for Joey, who decided to remain in the home he and his late wife shared, friends, family, and carers were consistently on hand to help him out. Well-wishers also rallied online, contributing more than $100,000 to support the family. Chuck and Barbara, Joey’s parents, lived seven miles away but were generous enough to frequently come over and help look after their grandchildren. Barbara, a nurse, called the experience a bittersweet one because Cassie had truly been like a daughter to her. She also pointed out how much learning her son had to do, as he previously only helped his wife out. But after Cassie’s passing, Barbara said:

“He’s the mom and dad.”

Despite how overwhelmingly tough it got, Joey had to soldier on. Following Cassie’s death, Joey refused to get rid of her belongings, which included her numerous paintings. He confessed it was simply too hard for him to do. However, one thing he has had no problem doing is making sure his children are well aware of how much their mother loved them. After their second child’s birth, Cassie had once told him:

“If something ever happens to me, just make sure the kids know how much I love them.”

To that end, he keeps their memories of her alive and has continued to raise them in his own way, always with respect to what he knows she would have wanted. Moving on after the death of his children’s mother seemed impossible to even fathom at the beginning. But as Joey learned, fate never sends a person a trial they are unable to overcome. So far, Cassie’s husband appears to be on the right track.

On January 30, 2022, Joey had an amazing update to share on a Facebook page dedicated to his wife’s memory. The proud father uploaded a picture of their adorable triplets on the day they turned a whopping six years old, meaning they turned seven in 2023. Judging from the images shared of the three children over the years, they have grown up happily and safely.

In January 2019, the trio appeared smiling in a Facebook post, lying on the floor in their pajamas with the only girl in the middle. For the 2018 festive season, the siblings were featured in a professionally taken Christmas photo. The post revealed that the following month, the trio would be turning three, were at a fun age, and were already showing off their unique personalities while growing quickly. Another great milestone their father shared was that they would be starting preschool in just a few months.

By July 2020, the triplets were four years old and getting ready to start second grade, their growth spurts quite noticeable as they featured in several family photos. Joey also revealed that he had remarried a few years prior and welcomed another child, a baby boy named Dawson, with his new wife. Their older sisters, Tenley and Chloe, were preparing to start their first and fifth grades, and all of the children were doing remarkably well.

Back in 2016, Joey showed how his family kept his wife’s memory alive by honoring her for Mother’s Day. The emotional post featured Cassie with one of her older children holding a carved-out pumpkin, wishing a very special mother in heaven a Happy Mother’s Day.