Mum of conjoined twins shares her heartfelt story: "We'll never forget the journey we've taken"
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Alyson Irwin and her husband, Phil, were both giddy as they entered the sonography room for her 20th-week pregnancy scan.
The mum, who was 35 years old at the time, had previously undergone a scan in which everything appeared normal, so she anticipated that this would also be just another normal day for her.
"We were thrilled to be adding to our family and were very keen to find out if our daughter, Kennedy, will have a little brother or a sister," she recalled.
However, the scan had only just begun when the sonographer hurriedly left to find a doctor. At this point, Alyson felt that familiar churning in her stomach, which is a sign that something dreadfully wrong may have occurred.
When the doctor entered the room, Alyson received the shock of her life, which stunned her and her husband into silence.
"You're carrying conjoined twins," the doctor said.
Alyson Irwin was shocked to learn that she would be giving birth to conjoined twins. Credit: News.com.au.
"What? How was this possible?" Alyson thought to herself as she broke down in tears. "We had so many heartbreaking questions. Would the babies live? What would their lives be like?"
The following day, the Irwins met with a new team of experts who provided answers to the many questions that had been bothering them.
They discovered they were expecting twin girls who were conjoined at the chest, from the sternum to the belly button. Although it was known for certain that they shared a liver, it was unknown whether or not they also shared a heart.
If that were the case, there would be no way to ever split them up.
"It was devastating to hear that," recalled Alyson. "For weeks, I'd wake every day sure I'd had a horrible nightmare, only to remember that it was all real."
At the 25th week of Alyson's pregnancy, the wonderful news that the twins did not share a heart and that there was a possibility that they could be separated brought a glimmer of hope to the situation.
"All I wanted was for the girls to have full, independent lives," she said. "Maybe everything really will be OK, I thought."
At 33 weeks, there was an abrupt decrease in the amount of blood flowing through her umbilical cord. In other words, the time had come for the twins to make their entrance into the world.
"All I could do was keep breathing and try to stay calm," Alyson recalled being wheeled into the delivery room and surrounded by a huge medical team.
Before she could even process what had happened, her daughters Sarabeth and Amelia were born, locked in an embrace. However, she was only able to catch a brief glimpse of them before they were rushed off to the NICU.
Sarabeth and Amelia were born connected at the chest, from their sternum to their belly buttons. Credit: News.com.au.
Nearly three months after their birth, the parents were finally able to take their lovely daughters home. It was decided that the twins would be separated when they were approximately six months old.
While the couple admitted that raising twins was a joy, their condition brought its own set of challenges and difficulties.
As the twins grew, so did their anxieties about the surgery.
"What would the physical and emotional impact of their separation be? Would there be complications? Would they feel lonely?" Alyson thought to herself.
In August 2020, the girls were finally brought to the operating table. Because of the restrictions imposed by Covid, Alyson and Phil were forced to wait anxiously in the hospital's parking lot.
Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch. The mum recalled feeling overwhelmed with happiness and sobbing uncontrollably while sitting with her husband in the car.
"Our two precious girls had been joined for 14 months. Now their new life could finally begin," she said, recalling how incredible it was to walk into the recovery room and see her twins apart for the first time.
"You're so brave, my girls," she said as the twins lay on their respective beds.
Separating Sarabeth and Amelia was a successful operation. Credit: News.com.au.
After only a month following the operation, Sarabeth and Amelia were able to return home.
Alongside their older sister Kennedy, the twins, who are almost three years old now, engage in activities such as running, reading, playing, and laughing.
"It's the most wonderful sight. But we'll never forget the journey we've taken," said Alyson.
"We will teach Sarabeth and Amelia to be proud of the scars that run down their chests. It's a reminder of how strong and independent they are, and I want them to wear them with pride."
We are so incredibly proud of Alyson and her family because she is such a courageous mother. We sincerely hope that her story tugged at some emotional strings for you, folks!
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