*Following his wife’s tragic death just hours after giving birth, Carlos Morales is raising his quadruplets on his own.
“I still think back to that moment every day and it was wonderful,” Carlos, 29, tells PEOPLE. “Erica did so well, the babies were healthy. It was perfect.”
But just a few hours later, after all four babies – three girls and one boy – were safely delivered, Erica, 36, went into hypovolemic shock, an emergency condition when the patient has a severe amount of blood loss. She died on Jan. 16 at 1:50 am.
“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak,” Morales said. “I didn’t know how I would survive without her. But almost five months later, I understand why I am still here. My babies are four beautiful blessings.”
Since that day, more than $350,000 was raised on his GoFundMe page, and on Thursday, the Steve Harvey show surprised Carlos with numerous gifts, including $10,000 per child from Sallie Mae to start a college savings account.
“When Steve Harvey told me that, I couldn’t believe it,” Morales said. “Everything I do is for my children and their future. Education is so important. I worry about money and this just made me feel so relieved.”
Erica’s mother, Sondra, relocated from Memphis, Tennessee to help Carlos raise the babies for the first few years.
“She said she will be here for as long as she needs to be,” he said. “She’s such a protective and loving grandmother. It’s a real team effort. Her mother has even come to help out so the babies now have their great-grandmother around as well.”
Morales has also gone back to work, and although he says it’s been good for him, it’s also the hardest part of his day.
“This wasn’t the plan. I still come home after work and look at pictures of us together. I go to her Facebook and I look through our text messages,” he says. “But I know I’ll be okay. I have to be. I have four beautiful children to raise….I just wish Erica could see them grow up.”
“Erica was supposed to be here. We were supposed to do this together,” he told PEOPLE back in March. “She was so prepared for this. She even wrote down in her iPad every single thing she had to make sure she had to do to have a healthy pregnancy.”
All four – Carlos Jr., Tracy, Paisley and Erica (named after his wife) – were born around 3 lbs., and have more than tripled their weight.
“They have such potential and it’s my job to give them a great life,” says Morales. “But I couldn’t do it without my family and friends.”
Check out the video below of Carlos on the Steve Harvey show.
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