Miracle twins saved thanks to Coventry's University Hospital spend first Christmas at home - The Coventry Observer

Miracle twins saved thanks to Coventry's University Hospital spend first Christmas at home

Coventry Editorial 8th Jan, 2017   0

MIRACLE twins who survived an operation while still inside their mother have spent their first Christmas at home.

Noah and William Lewington spent the first three months of their lives on the Neonatal Unit at University Hospital in Coventry, missing their first Christmas at home with their parents.

But thanks to the hard work of staff, the duo were able to finally go home and spend their first festive period with family.

Mum Emma, from Northamptonshire, was just eight weeks pregnant with the twins when doctors discovered she also had an ectopic pregnancy – a fertilised egg implanted in one of her fallopian tubes.




Known as an heterotopic pregnancy, the condition is so rare it is virtually unheard of but it can be life threatening.

The only way doctors at University Hospital in Coventry could save Emma was to remove her fallopian tube containing the egg – while the babies were still in her womb, meaning there was a high risk that the surgery would cause her to miscarry.


But having already undergone nearly two years of fertility treatment at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Coventry, Emma and her husband Jake were not giving up hope on their twins.

Thankfully the operation went well and Emma was able to continue with her pregnancy.

However, her luck was short lived when further complications developed including a condition known as Twin to Twin Transfusion syndrome (TTTS) – which leads to uneven blood flow between the babies, leaving one twin much smaller than the other.

Dr Mukherjee, a Specialist in Fetal Medicine at University Hospital, took the difficult decision to deliver the twins three months early in a bid to save them.

Luckily the twins survived, but had to spend their first months being cared for on the Neonatal Unit.

Emma and Jake Lewington with babies Noah and William on the Neonatal Unit at University Hospital over Christmas 2015. (s)

School teacher Emma and her husband were forced to spend Christmas 2015 on the unit – arriving at 6am to spend as much time with them as possible before having to return home without them.

But last Christmas it was different.

Emma said: “Christmas 2015 was incredibly hard but considering what the twins had been through we were just thankful for them.

“This year, they spent their first Christmas at home and we could not wait.

“Having a family is something that is so easy to take for granted, but it didn’t come as easy to us and we are so grateful for the teams at University Hospital for making our Christmas wish come true.”

Dr Soma Mukherjee added: “Emma and Jake had almost every possible complication in the pregnancy, not only did the twins survive Emma’s surgery but they also survived TTTS which is incredibly dangerous.

“Here at University Hospital, Coventry we have the expertise to deal with high-risk and complicated pregnancies and are able to give parents like Emma and Jake, the family they always dreamt of.”

Announcements

Weddings, Birthdays, Bereavements, Thank you notices, Marriages and more.

Recruitment

Find a career you'll love with our free career finder website.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Coventry Observer newspaper.