Trey Goodwin, an active duty Army Captain working as a staff officer for the 4th Military Information Support Group (Airborne) on Ft. Bragg, left for Afghanistan on the day his wife Suzy had an ultrasound that revealed 3 babies. The pregnancy itself was very high risk not to mention that Suzy still had a 1 year old to care for. During the course of Trey’s deployment, Suzy got to the point where her mobility was severely limited.
“If you need a visual,” says Suzy, “I could not turn the steering wheel on my car because my belly was in the way!”
But, 30 weeks into her pregnancy (about one year ago) with Trey still in Afghanistan, Suzy experienced an unexpected seizure that sent her into labor.
“I was blessed that my Mom and a friend were with me,” says Suzy. “But I was also in disbelief that the babies were actually coming. ‘They can’t come yet— Trey isn’t home yet!’.
Trey first found out that Suzy was in labor from a cryptic text her mother Joanne sent.
“I was serving as the detachment commander for a PSYOP Detachment operating out of the embassy in Kabul,” said Trey. “The text read, ‘Suzy had a seizure, babies coming’. Conveniently enough we were scheduled to begin our redeployment journey home and had a helicopter flying out of Kabul late that afternoon. Upon receipt of the text message I began sending emails informing my chain of command of the current events. I had asked Suzy’s mother to ensure they initiated The Red Cross process.
Upon departing Kabul, 47 hours, and five countries later Trey arrived at the hospital to see Suzy, but missed the delivery by just three hours.
“I had never had reason to utilize the Red Cross for anything in the last 15 years of my military career,” Trey added. “Both my unit’s family readiness group and the Red Cross performed professionally and urgently to assist with my expeditious return trip home.”
“The Red Cross did absolutely everything they could to get him home as quickly as possible— I am very grateful to them,” says Suzy. “I should also mention that while this was happening, a number of folks from Trey’s Command at Fort Bragg came to the hospital to check on me. Beyond the delivery, our ‘Army family’ coordinated a meal train, prayed, and brought gifts for the babies.”
When a service member returns from a deployment, it is referred to as reintegration. It is a stressful time for many of the reasons one would allude to (changes in both people, falling back into household routines and responsibilities, etc.) but the trauma of their situation— their family doubling in size— made it even more so.
The triplets were fighting for their lives at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Gideon, Gabriel, and Charlotte’s combined weight was less than a single term baby. They remained in the NICU for the first 2 months of their lives, undergoing a number of interventions as they learned to breathe without assistance, feed from a bottle, and regulate their own body temperatures.
“They were ‘growers and feeders’ for the most part; however, we had moments when we felt completely helpless and lost,” added Suzy. “We attribute the triplets’ current position— thriving and healthy— to God and the work he did last year through the respiratory therapists, neonatologists, and NICU nurses at Cape Fear.
Now, Suzy is celebrating the anniversary of their NICU homecoming with an attempt at a Guinness World Record— 13.1 miles while pushing the now 1 year olds in a triple stroller during the NC Half Marathon in Fayetteville, NC on October 30.
Suzy ran her first marathon in 2003 and that was supposed to be a bucket lister. However, after that she started a job which required a lot of travel and she found that training was a great way to see new places on foot. Then she adopted a new goal. To run a marathon in each state.
“The goal to run a marathon in each state combines my love for running and travel. It started as somewhat of a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) but I just completed the 42nd state in my effort last month!”
She and Trey have been married for 8 years and have moved 5 times— DC, Kentucky, Alaska, Missouri, and North Carolina.
“Each time we move, I actively seek out and connect with the local running club. It is there that I make the type of friends who get me through the stresses of deployments,” says Suzy. “For example, when we had our first child in 2013, the Fayetteville Running Club (FRC) threw me a baby shower where we did a group run and I had to collect my gifts, which were planted throughout our route, and put them in a jogging stroller.”
In addition to providing a like minded support system in the community, running is key for Suzy and other spouses during deployment times.
“Trey has been deployed 3 times in the last 5 years. There are a lot of things I can’t control during those deployments, such as when I will speak with him next. A daily run is very much within my control and there is a lot of comfort in that,” says Suzy. “In running, I am doing something positive for myself at a time when it would be really easy to have a pity party.”
Suzy’s current marathon and Guinness World Record attempt is her effort to honor the NICU staff and bring awareness to premature births. She is combining her race with a fundraising effort for the Cape Fear Valley Medical Foundation and March of Dimes.
There is currently no existing record for the fastest half marathon while pushing a triple stroller; Goodwin, who has completed over 50 full marathons, will be creating the entry.
“For me, the challenge isn’t covering the distance— it’s doing so while pushing the combined weight of the kids and the stroller, which is more than my own body weight!” exclaims Goodwin.
To learn about or donate to March of Dimes, visit: https://www.marchofdimes.org/
To learn about or donate to Cape Fear Valley Medical Foundation, visit: http://www.cfvfoundation.org/ The foundation has set up a specific selection for donations toward the effort – “Suzy Goodwin Running for a Cause”. When donors select this option from https://donate.cfvfoundation.org/ the gifts will go directly to the fund they have to support the NICU.
For more information on the NC Half Marathon, visit: http://halloweenhalfmarathon.com/events/north-carolina/
You can follow Suzy’s quest to run 26.2+ in all 50 states at: http://run51.blogspot.com/
