Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty – the list goes on and on. We have all read most of the more popular fairy tales.  Some of us have them memorized after having read them a thousand times.  Well, we were living the fairytale until we were introduced to something we had never heard of before, Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome or TTTS.  Our story is not a typical fairy tale.  It is one that has a great deal of heart ache and a great deal of sadness, but it is one that proves love, faith and family can get you through just about anything.

Our story really starts in the summer of 2004.  My wife, Connie, and I were blessed with a son, Noah, who tragically died of NEC on the day that we were supposed to bring him home from the NICU.  We struggled with the loss, but knew that we wanted to have more children. We were once again blessed and became pregnant very soon after our loss.  You can imagine our excitement but also the apprehensiveness.  We did not want to take any chances this time, so we decided to go to a high risk pregnancy clinic right away.  We went in for our first ultrasound pretty early.  I remember the lab technician looking strangely at the monitor and eventually she asked, “Do twins run in the family?”.  Connie and I just laughed.  It was not a surprise.  After all, I am an identical twin and my wife has twins in her family.  It all seemed normal, and we were very excited.

Things were going great!  We went in for our 18 week check up, and again, we were sent into a tailspin.  The doctors were very concerned, and they told us that our girls had TTTS.  We did not know what that meant, but we knew we would do whatever it would take to save our girls.  Within a week, we were on a plane to Tampa, Florida to have fetal surgery.  When we got there, it was obvious that Dr. Quintero sensed how critical they were and knew it had to be done that night. He called his team back to the hospital to do the emergency surgery. We were in that land of helplessness again.  I cannot explain it.  If you have been there, you know that it is not a pleasant place.  We knew we could lose one or both of our girls, but that we had to do something.  The only thing we could think about was hearing two heartbeats at the next ultrasound. I think that sound will forever be embedded in our hearts.  The second day after the surgery things seemed to be getting better.  We flew home and the pregnancy went well until 32 weeks.  Maya and Jadyn were born at 32 weeks 2 days.  We were blessed with two healthy little girls. Of course with premature birth, they had their issues, but we made it through with the help of our families.

Speaking of family, this is where our story gets a little complicated.  As we struggled through the first year or so of Maya and Jadyn’s lives, my twin brother and his wife announced to the family that they were expecting as well.  We were so excited for them; they had been trying for so long and finally it was their turn.  Of course, they had a little surprise for all of us.  

My wife, Melissa, and I (Mark’s identical twin) had finally been blessed with a pregnancy that surpassed all of our expectations, we were having triplets!  We had spent years trying to have children which included going to fertility clinics and at least one confirmed miscarriage.  We were extremely lucky to have family to support us in our pregnancy; we immediately knew which clinics to go to, what questions to ask, and we had plenty of helping hands on the way.  However, we also knew more about high risk pregnancies and fetal distresses and syndromes because of Connie and Mark’s experiences.

Things were moving along quickly as we planned for three little bundles of joy.  We knew that once the triplets were born there would be very little time for anything other than diaper changes, feedings, cleaning up and cuddling with our precious little miracles.  Melissa faced numerous challenges along the way due to the stresses of carrying triplets and was put on bed rest at 18 weeks.  The triplets were doing well and things were progressing right on schedule, we were so excited! However, in the back of our minds, we were nervously counting the weeks, as we knew the inherent risks of multiple births.

At 19 weeks, the wheels fell off our joy ride!  Aidan and Gavin, our identical twins, were diagnosed with TTTS.  We were horrified because we knew the statistics and the possible outcomes.  However, we also knew what needed to be done and which doctor to go to for the surgery. Within the week, we were on our way to Florida to see Dr. Quintero’s team for the laser surgery.  After the initial meetings and scans, Dr. Quintero decided the surgery must be done immediately and his team was called back to the hospital.  The procedure went well, so off to recovery for Melissa and the boys.  Minutes seemed like hours as we anxiously waited for the morning. After a few tests and scans, we received the news that our little Gavin who was very sick did not make it through the night.  We were traumatized by the loss, but doctors stressed that our focus must be directed to the survival of Aidan and Ethan our remaining twins.

We flew home with heart ache as we had lost one of our little boys.  Things were very uneventful until about 11 weeks later when Aidan and Ethan were born at 31 weeks.  After some time in the NICU, our little boys have grown into rambunctious, little two year olds.  We will always struggle watching Aidan grow up without Gavin by his side; however, we know that he will always live on in our hearts.

Life is filled with things that we do not understand.  Sometimes they bring great joy and sometimes they bring unbearable heartache.  Sleeping beauty awakes from her sleep with a kiss from her true love, Cinderella finds true love with the help of her fairy godmother, and we have been blessed with the love of our twins.  Our lives have been forever changed because of TTTS, and there is a special place in our hearts for Dr. Quintero and his team for the miracles they perform.