On October 19 2011 Holly gave birth to Lincoln Marcus Boyd and Nathan Henry Boyd. Unfortunately our two boys were still born at 31 weeks.
The cause of death was acute twin to twin transfusion syndrome. It is rare for this syndrome to occur at such a late stage in the pregnancy and its acute nature meant that there was nothing that could be done to save them.
We discovered that their hearts had stopped beating early on that week. Holly was given medication to induce labour with the expectation that she would deliver our boys on Thursday. Everything happened very quickly though and instead labour started on Tuesday night. Our boys were born in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The news came as a massive shock as we both thought that TTTS would be unlikely to occur. We had very little time to absorb the news so the speed of labour was hugely distressing. Following their birth we had a chance to meet them for the first time. The midwives had dressed Nathan and Lincoln in the outfits that we had originally intended to use for taking them home.
They were very beautiful in their moses basket and they were surrounded by the toy bears bought as gifts.
Our boys were identical but there were clear differences between them. In their faces we could see elements of the both of us. We got to hold them and give them cuddles to show them the love we have for them.
Whilst our time with them was limited our family got to meet Nathan and Lincoln. A lot of photos were taken and in time we may make them available but some of them are distressing. We have photos, hand and foot prints and memories to keep them in our hearts and lives.
They were in our lives for 31 weeks and even from the early scans we could see glimpses of their personalities as we watched them play together and use each other as pillows. They would frequently make our consultant and sonographers work for their money by skilfully avoiding any attempt to scan them or crossing their legs when we tried to find out whether they were boys or girls.
We have spoken to a number of you to tell you the news and the most common response has been “I don’t know what to say”. That’s understandable. If you are worried there is advice available on the SANDS website on what to say and what not to say and ways you can help.
Your donations will help the Twins and Multiple Birth Association help parents of twins throughout their lives.
---------
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
