A mum is sharing her harrowing journey after losing one of her twin babies and making the tough decision to take care of her second twin diagnosed with a rare condition.
When Elaine Avery began experiencing frequent bouts of nausea, she assumed a stomach bug had taken hold – but then, she took a pregnancy test to be sure and it was positive.
The mum, aged 37, from Southampton, was overjoyed for her new arrival to join the family, including her son, Max, 12, but was left shocked when a scan revealed she was expecting twins.
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Sadly, a few weeks later, it was discovered that the babies were monochorionic-diamniotic identical twins, meaning they shared the same placenta, which made her pregnancy high-risk.
Then, at 22 weeks, Elaine found out that one of the twins had passed away and that the other foetus likely wouldn’t survive due to chronic lung disease and developmental delay – but she decided to give her a chance and is now sharing their battle.
“I felt so blessed when I discovered that there were two babies growing inside me – but it wasn’t meant to be,” Elaine, a communications assistant, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“I hadn’t bought a single thing because I was terrified that neither would survive.
“But when I reached 10 weeks, I started to buy all the things needed.
“When they told me about the complications, I felt so scared and alone.
“I had to keep going and stay strong for my babies, as there was a fighting chance everything would be okay.
“Sadly, they developed twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome which only made things more complicated, so I had to undergo emergency surgery to separate the blood vessels connecting them.”
At this point, she found out the gender of her babies – two girls – whom she called Aurelia and Aurora.
But then, Aurelia, the supposed healthier twin, passed away and Elaine was left dealing with grief.
She said: “I was devastated, but I couldn’t grieve Aurelia when Aurora still needed me.
“I couldn’t believe it and I struggled to come to terms with losing my baby girl.
“I wanted to hang onto the hope of my other baby, but I was advised to terminate the pregnancy entirely as there were too many issues present.
“But I didn’t want to face losing another child, so I went ahead and decided to carry her through to full-term.
“She seemed like she was fighting in there, so I fought with her.”
At 24 weeks, she prematurely gave birth to the surviving twin through an emergency c-section – but due to how sick Aurora was, doctors thought she wouldn’t make it.
But then, the plucky tot started to enter a critical condition and was rushed to have multiple surgeries to combat sepsis.
During this time, the family mourned Aurelia at her funeral and hoped for a positive outcome for Aurora.
From being covered in tubes to thriving within a few months, Elaine hopes to share the story of her “miracle” baby with others.
She added: “She’s blind in one eye and is facing developmental delays, but she’s feisty and loves to laugh.
“She radiates joy and resilience and the bond with her older brother is the source for laughter and happiness within the entire family.
“I couldn’t have gotten through this without the support of my friends and family, as well as the doctors and nurses who cared for, and continue to care for Aurora.
“I’m so proud of her and I know her sister would be too.”
