In good health, having six children is not something that happens very often. Janet never thought she would be in this small number because she knew from a very young age that she would never be a mother. But fate had other plans. She was richly repaid for her hard work, faith, and determination.
They met for the first time on the Isle of Man when they were 17. Their relationship quickly turned into something more than just friendship. Now that Janet knew how deeply she felt, she chose to tell Graham the truth about her inability to have children. Her doctors told her she couldn’t get pregnant because she had a rare disease that kept her from ever having a period. Graham replied, “If we’re not meant to have children, then so be it. I want to be with you.”
They got married when they were 24. Later, doctors told Janet that she still had a chance to become a mother, which was good news. She and Graham chose to try everything when they were in Britain in the 1980s. After twelve tries, it still didn’t work.
**Exciting news: “Ma’am, you’re pregnant.”**
“Let’s give it another shot.” If things didn’t work out, they agreed to adopt. And on the thirteenth try, a miracle happened. She found out she was pregnant at her eight-week ultrasound. Janet is 31 years old.
Janet felt scared when she saw the doctor’s big eyes. The doctor left the room and came back with the head doctor and a few other doctors. After telling her that she was going to have six children, they told her to go to the hospital right away.
They were shocked. The doctors said there were not many chances of having all six kids live to term. On the other hand, Janet stayed calm and believed that everything would be okay.
“A One-of-a-Kind Birth and Janet’s Feat”
Janet was told to wait until she was 23 weeks pregnant so that some babies could be saved. Even though she was in unbearable pain, Janet was ready to take on any task to become a mother. The doctors decided to have a C-section when it became clear that the babies’ room was running out at 31 weeks.
On November 18, 1983, seven medical teams were there to help with the birth. Janet safely gave birth to all six babies while under general anesthesia. When she woke up, her first thought was about the kids. Lucky for us, all six were still living and weighed between 1.5 and 1 kg. All of them were women.
“Everyday Life for a Big Family: Two Hours of Sleep and State Support”
After a month, Janet and her children came back home. Graham took time off to help his wife, so he could be a dad.
The parents had a hard time figuring out how to take care of so many babies, so the government sent some nurses to the house. For the first few months, they could only sleep a few hours each night. They took two double walkers and slings with them on trips. The young parents were very happy, even though there was a lot of noise and activity going on all the time.
The Walton family became well-known in Liverpool. They were in commercials and were asked to be on TV shows.
As time went on, the girls grew up and moved out. Hannah, who works as a first-grade teacher, was the only child who stayed with her parents.
Jenny opened a bakery, and her other girls have started their own lives and jobs.
Kate works for a company that hires people.
Ruth got a job as a secretary.
Lucy’s job is to serve passengers on planes.
Sarah, another daughter, had a girl named Georgie in 2014.
In an interview with Mirror in 2021, Janet said that she now has three grandkids. She talked about how happy she was with her life and how happy she was that her dream of having a big, loving family had come true.
