At the start, we learned that Winona was expecting twins at 8 weeks. I didn’t even attend the appointment as I thought it would be a routine visit. It was a Friday afternoon when Nona called me to say that I wasn’t going to believe what she had to say. After she told me, she couldn’t stop laughing and I had to speak with the doctor to confirm the news (even though the ultra-sound picture shows two distinct little peanuts). We we're on cloud nine for the next few weeks, yet very cautious to let friends know as obviously anything could change.
As the pregnancy progressed, we couldn’t believe what was going on as neither Nona nor I have multiples in our families. Family was very supportive and jogging their memories for old family members that were twins. We we're looking forward to our next doctor’s appointment just to confirm that the two little peanuts we're still in there and doing fine.
As we met with Dr. Ralph Quijano, they were indeed still there and since we were expecting multiples had to meet with another doctor since it is a high risk pregnancy. Luckily it was Dr. Alex Soffici, who we've met with before (for Caleb) and who has a great reputation. When we met with him, he again confirmed that their were two boys but that they were sharing a placenta and couldn’t see if there was a membrane separating the two from one another. He also noticed size differences between them and looked concerned as he performed the ultra-sound. We talked afterward about what could be going on but we had to visit another doctor at USC.
One minute we're elated that we're expecting twins yet concerned as their lives could be at risk. The boys were experiencing a uncommon disorder called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). In a nut shell, one baby (recipient) was receiving too much blood; the other baby (donor) wasn’t receiving enough blood. We felt very fortunate to live 45 minutes from doctors who could correct the situation as other may have to travel from other continents here to the U.S to visit highly specialized doctors. After an hour long ultra-sound, the doctor told us that the situation was bad but not bad enough for Nona to have the surgery. The car ride home was very quiet as we had more questions and unsure what was going on. The only thing we could think of was to have the family participate in prayer and fasting. We called Bishop Norris in the Carpinteria Ward and asked if the Ward could participate. Since the family and ward participated in the fast, the situation has turned from status quo to improvement to dramatic improvement.
As of right now, we have moved from weekly appointments to appointments once every three weeks. We have another appointment today with Dr. Quijano who was very pleased with the progress.
We are so fortunate to have such loving family and friends! Please continue to pray for us as we have 10 weeks to go.
Love to all!
Aaron, Nona, and Caleb
