The dream of starting a family rapidly spiralled into nightmare when Maria and Stephen Gibson discovered their unborn twins had developed a condition which threatened to kill both babies.
But determined to do everything in their power to save their precious babies, they opted for pioneering surgery on the twins, whilst still in the womb. The couple had been thrilled to find Maria, 32, was pregnant, within a few months of deciding to start a family, following their third wedding anniversary.
They could hardly believe their eyes when their 12-week scan revealed they were expecting twins
“It took a little time to sink in, but we were delighted – absolutely thrilled,” said Stephen, a 30-year-old civil engineer.
A further scan two weeks on showed the twins were indentical, and the couple was warned of possible problems this could entail.
“We listened to the facts, but we were so happy. Waiting for the next scan, we had no idea we were on the edge of the roller coaster and about to drop,” said Stephen.
Maria felt uncomfortable and her bump was growing very quickly – but they put that down to the fact that they were expecting twins.
Unfortunately, it was the first sign that heartbreaking news was just around the corner.
At 21 weeks, another scan revealed that the babies had Twin-to-Twin Syndrome – TTTS - a condition where one receives the lion’s share of the blood supply, and is potentially fatal to both.
“We’d read up about the condition, and knew how dangerous it could be. We were worried, but just trying to cope with each day as it came,” said Stephen.
Over the next fortnight, Maria underwent amniotic drains, where fluid is removed from the womb to try and even up the supply to the babies, but by week 23, the condition had become critical, and the possibility of losing both babies was very real.
But Maria and Stephen refused to lose hope. Instead Stephen turned detective to search for any news or medical breakthrough reported on the internet that could help them in their hour of need.
He read reports that told of surgery in the womb which had saved the lives of babies who otherwise would have died, and mentioned this to the medical team looking after Maria at their local hospital, the John Radcliffe in Oxford.
“They explained only two surgeons in the country had ever done it, but were really encouraging, and arranged for us to go and meet one of them.”
Just two days later, they were at the Queen Charlotte Hospital in London, where they met Professor Nick Fisk, a leading authority in the treatment of TTTS.
He laid out the options, which were stark. He warned that continuing with the drains could now bring on very early labour, with little chance of survival for the twins, or they could sacrifice one baby in the hope the other might survive.
If they did nothing, the babies would die within three days.
“I asked Professer Fisk straight out how many times he had carried out the laser surgery and how successful he had been,” said Maria.
“He had to admit it had only been done 15 times in this country, and the survival rate was around 30 per cent – there was a strong chance they would still not survive.”
The surgery could also affect Maria’s future chances of having children, but the couple were determined this was the right course of action.
“We had to do all we could for the babies, and we agreed to the surgery immediately,” said Maria.
Within three hours, leading consultants from across the south east had been called to the hospital to assist the surgery, and Maria went into theatre.
Stephen said “I was absolutely on the edge of my nerves. I was sat next to my wife who was undergoing surgery, and the lives of our children were on the line – everything important to me was under threat - it doesn’t get any worse than this.”
The surgery lasted just under two hours, and the first success was actually completing it without incident.
Maria was scanned constantly for the next few days and weeks, as success would only show in time.
Finally, an MRI scan at 30 weeks showed the boys had no brain damage, and appeared healthy.
Maria, who had striven to remain positive, said she finally could see light at the end of the tunnel.
“We had both always tried our best to believe our twins would be fine,” she said. “We insisted on doing the nursery, buying things, even joining Tamba, the Twins and Multiple Birth Association, whilst things were very much in the balance.
“We kept a calendar on the wall, with great big red rings around major dates, and had little celebrations everytime we passed one. The MRI scan really, really made us believe we were winning the battle,” she said.
At 33 weeks, the couple’s consultant set the date for a caesarian section, satisfied the twins were ready to be delivered.
“All the way through pregnancy, we felt we had had twice the problems. Then, I was shown Oliver and William as soon as they were born, and I finally felt twice as lucky,” said Stephen.
“Obviously, they were still premature, and spent some time in the special care unit. It really hit me then, looking around at the tiny, poorly babies there that whilst our hell was over, it was just beginning for some parents. I just thanked God for our little miracles.”
* Please click here for more information about Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome and the advice and support available.
Read another mum's story of hope here.
That is one beautiful picture!
Posted by: Katie | February 21, 2007 at 09:55 AM
I know - absolute smashers.
Posted by: Linda | February 21, 2007 at 05:51 PM