Mum and Dad, Marni and Lee, revel in the chaos of parenthood, happy to have their happy and healthy twin girls home after a tumultuous pregnancy journey.
Marni was 22 weeks pregnant with identical twins when they were diagnosed with a rare and potentially life-threatening medical condition.
Marni’s girls were diagnosed with Twin Anaemia Polycythaemia Sequence (TAPS)—a condition where blood flows unequally between twins who share a placenta and results in one fetus having a low blood count and the other fetus having a high blood count.
"There was a very real possibility that the girls weren’t going to make the pregnancy. But we had to put our trust in the doctors. We knew we were in the best hands," Marni said.
Marni was referred to the Mater Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine at Mater Mothers’ Hospital where Dr Glenn Gardener cared for the unborn twin girls, performing two lifesaving, in utero blood transfusions.
Marni said she felt “scared” knowing the risks involved, but she was determined to give her daughters the best chance at life.
The in utero procedures were completed by a team of specialist that offer fetal therapies and surgeries that aren’t offered anywhere else in the country.
At 34 weeks’ gestation Marni’s precious girls, Billie and Poppy, arrived six weeks early and spent 10 days in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU).
“If it wasn’t for the team at Mater, our girls wouldn’t be here today,” Marni says.
Now, the girls are robust and healthy. Together we can help to change the lives of patients and their families.
