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Our shielding will finally be over & on August 8th Brad & I will be venturing out into the world again with The Little's (Axel Black & Reuben Zac) to help raise money with Twins Trust for the TTTS registry & nine other pieces of lifesaving research for Twins, Multiples & more.   

Axel (top) Reuben (bottom) making swaddles look cute despite their oxygen tubes

TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome) is something we have had personal experience of along with SIGUR.  We underwent radical fetal surgery in an attempt to save Axel & Reuben from TTTS at Kings College London.  This came with huge risks, we were told the chances of survival for our identical twin boys were 75% for 1 baby, 50% for both & 25% for neither.  The surgery was performed by Professor Kypros Nicolaides (who developed the pioneering treatment) & his team & we are so very lucky to say that the treatment we underwent was successful.  We are eternally grateful to the teams at Kings, Liverpool Women's & Warrington to have two beautiful babies as a result born at 2.2lbs & 3.8lbs but sadly this is not the case for everyone.  

At home just after we left Neonatal - TTTS & SIGUR size difference at 9 weeks old (not even 1 corrected). Reuben (left) still wasn't even 4lbs.

It is a rare, serious condition that can occur in pregnancies when identical twins share a placenta. Abnormal blood vessel connections form in the placenta and allow blood to flow unevenly between the babies. One twin − called the donor – becomes dehydrated; & the other − called the recipient − develops high blood pressure & produces too much urine & over fills the amniotic sac.  If this abnormal sharing is significant, the twins can get sick & may face severe complications, including: heart failure, early labor, brain damage & death.  Without treatment, this condition can be fatal for both twins. You can find out more about TTTS here:  https://twinstrust.org/get-involved/appeals/ttts-appeal.html 

Axel did unfortunately lose part of his leg. Not as a direct result from TTTS but due to a complication that occurred when treating some problems that came about from TTTS as he was the 'recipient twin'

Twins Trust have organized a 10k walk, run or swim but we feel that pre babies 10k would have been a walk in the park for us so we are doubling up to 20k!  This will be quite challenging for us now. Not only will we be tackling anxieties surrounding leaving the house for the first time during a pandemic., we will have two babies strapped to our fronts that are easily susceptible to viruses.  We will also have all their gear, including both of their oxygen tanks on our backs.  Plus, the copious amounts of lockdown weight gain & the pregnancy weight gain we will be carrying (and yes, Brad has this too!).   

We have planned a route that we hope to complete in 2 days.  The Little's have met very few people so far & we have been very much deprived of frequent social interaction since March therefore, we would love if friends & family could join us on different parts of our journey along the way.  It would be a nice opportunity for us to combine this with a few socially distanced get together's, introducing Axel & Reuben in the fresh open air with no PPE required.   

Playtime at 15 weeks (6 corrected)

Hit us up if you would like to join the four of us on the walk on the 8th or 9th of August & we will plan you in along our route.  Please bring water, pain relief & a resuscitation device (just in case) !

If you would please be generous enough to make a small donation towards this cause we would be more than thankful as this is very close to our hearts & could go on to help save many other babies in the future :)

NOTE: Swipe in the gallery for more littles pictures!