First Overlooked, Five Remaining Sextuplets Get Attention, Help

WASHINGTON - The mother of five surviving sextuplets is thankful for the house, vans and other goods she has received since her babies finally captured the same national attention given to the septuplets born last week in Iowa.

But Jacqueline Thompson has little energy to express her gratitude.

"It's fantastic. We really need a home," Thompson said this week in a voice hoarse from taking too many phone calls from benefactors. "I'm overwhelmed. I'm very tired. I'm losing my voice."

When the Washington, D.C., resident delivered sextuplets May 8, few people offered help. That changed with the birth of the septuplets a week ago in Iowa.

Thompson's phone began to ring when the media reported that while there had been an outpouring of support for the McCaughey family in Iowa, the Thompsons received hardly any.

Even though one Thompson girl was stillborn, Octavia, Stella, Emily, AnnMarie and Richard are keeping their parents busy.

And the Thompsons now are being swamped with help.

"We plan on giving them a house, but none of the details have been worked out," said Sharon McHale, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Freddie Mac Foundation. "We don't know which house it will be, but they would not pay anything."

When the Thompsons get the house, they can park their two new vehicles in the driveway.

The Chevrolet Division of General Motors is donating a new 1998 Astro van to the Thompsons; the presentation was broadcast yesterday

on the nationally syndicated "Maury Povich Show."

Lakewood Chrysler Plymouth in Lakewood, N.J., owned by Mark Sokal, James DeCastro and Derrick Williams, wants to give the Thompsons a 1995 Ford Aerostar.

Both vans seat seven.

"We're not rich," Sokal said. "We just bought the dealership. We want to do nice things for the community here and nice things for people."

The Washington-based Community Foundation for the National Capital Region has set up a fund for the Thompsons.

"The checks have been pouring in. It's been gratifying to see the $5 checks that have come in with the $150 checks," said Terri Freeman, president of the public foundation.

Churches want to help as well. The Trinidad and Tobago Association of Washington, D.C., plans to take up a special collection for the family at its annual Christmas concert in Silver Spring, Md. Jacqueline Thompson is a native of Trinidad.

Procter & Gamble is contributing diapers. Block Drug, a baby-products manufacturer in Jersey City, N.J., is sending the family diaper-rash ointment, teething gel and over-the-counter baby drops for stomach gas. Mrs. Thompson says someone has promised her a washer and dryer.

A Washington child-care center, which is accepting donated items, will provide free day care for the Thompson children for five years. A hotel owner has offered the Thompsons a free vacation - either with or without the babies.

Burlington Coat Factory in Greenbelt, Md., is giving the Thompsons two strollers - a double and a triple. The junior class at Oxon Hill High School in suburban Maryland contributed pocket change during a lunchtime collection on Tuesday.

It is unclear how the Thompson family's needs initially were overlooked.

Maureen Doolan Boyle, executive director of Mothers of Super Twins in Brentwood, N.Y., says many woman pregnant with multiples are so afraid that several of their babies will die that they aren't quick to network with other families of multiples. Without the network, donations are not always forthcoming, she says.

"Some families never ask for financial support," she said. "But the vast majority need help. Financially, it is a huge undertaking."

Jacqueline Thompson doesn't know why the national spotlight fell on her babies six months late. She is just eager to get off the phone to talk with her husband, Linden, who is walking in the door from his job as an electrician.

"My husband just came home," she said. "He doesn't know about the house."

Checks may be sent to The Thompson Fund c/o The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, 1112 16 St. N.W. Suite 340, Washington, DC 20036. Donated items may be sent to the Edward C. Mazique Parent-Child Center, 1719 13th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20009.