Support Hester Twins' Birth Journey
Donation protected
If you have the pleasure of knowing the Hester family, you know how incredible they are as people and how amazing they are going to be as parents. Leah and Chance started trying to get pregnant in 2016, where they worked hard to pay off all debt, worked on their marriage through therapy to prepare themselves, and then waited for that positive test. After years of negative tests, they had to make the difficult conclusion to seek the help of a fertility specialist. They were told they needed to pursue IVF. After many failed transfers, devastating losses, and many tears of wanting to give up, in the summer of 2021, they finally got those two pink lines. And it wasn’t only two pink lines they got, they also found out they were pregnant with two baby girls: Evelyn Josephine and Aurora Noel!
Unfortunately, the hardships didn’t end there. At 15 weeks’ gestation, the twins were diagnosed with Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Upon diagnosis, the twins were already at stage three out of five, meaning one of the twins had very little fluid, an irregular heartbeat, and they were just days away from stage 5- where one or both twins would have passed away. This serious diagnosis threatened to take the lives of both twins, but Leah and Chance acted quickly and immediately left for Houston, Texas. There, they had several ultrasounds and consultations with multiple doctors leading in the fetal surgical field before determining that surgery was the only option to hopefully save their babies. The two-hour surgery was invasive and risky for both mother and babies, but the doctors were very encouraged with the speed of recovery for both parties. The main issue left from the surgery was a high leak (membrane rupture) in Evelyn’s sac membrane, meaning amniotic fluid from her sac leaked for several days before the rupture sealed.
Less than three weeks after surgery, Leah’s water broke. She and Chance rushed to the maternal fetal specialist. When they went back for the ultrasound, the twins and the amount of fluid in their sacs were looking normal. The next day’s appointment again showed a normal amount of amniotic fluid for both twins, but irregular blood flow in Evelyn’s umbilical cord. The doctors said there was nothing to worry about, but Leah unfortunately continued to leak amniotic fluid, so they put her on bedrest.
Now, Leah and Chance, along with her treatment team, have decided that bed rest will be the best option for the twins and the best chance of their continued viability during this pregnancy. Since the high leak continues to rupture, her team has suggested that she could possibly be admitted to the hospital around 26 weeks’ gestation for close monitoring, depending on how the situation progresses.
We are raising money for her medical costs, as none of the life saving surgeries performed in Texas were covered under insurance, as well as her need to take time off of work, and her possible stay in the hospital moving forward. Leah and Chance are already the best parents, and we hope taking off the financial pressure of this time will enable her to be able to fully focus on healing and on the rest of her pregnancy.
IVF shots
Moments after finding out the transfer worked!
They're girls!!
Time for surgery...
The girls when they were diagnosed with TTTS (Aurora up top, Evelyn down below).
Unfortunately, the hardships didn’t end there. At 15 weeks’ gestation, the twins were diagnosed with Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Upon diagnosis, the twins were already at stage three out of five, meaning one of the twins had very little fluid, an irregular heartbeat, and they were just days away from stage 5- where one or both twins would have passed away. This serious diagnosis threatened to take the lives of both twins, but Leah and Chance acted quickly and immediately left for Houston, Texas. There, they had several ultrasounds and consultations with multiple doctors leading in the fetal surgical field before determining that surgery was the only option to hopefully save their babies. The two-hour surgery was invasive and risky for both mother and babies, but the doctors were very encouraged with the speed of recovery for both parties. The main issue left from the surgery was a high leak (membrane rupture) in Evelyn’s sac membrane, meaning amniotic fluid from her sac leaked for several days before the rupture sealed.
Less than three weeks after surgery, Leah’s water broke. She and Chance rushed to the maternal fetal specialist. When they went back for the ultrasound, the twins and the amount of fluid in their sacs were looking normal. The next day’s appointment again showed a normal amount of amniotic fluid for both twins, but irregular blood flow in Evelyn’s umbilical cord. The doctors said there was nothing to worry about, but Leah unfortunately continued to leak amniotic fluid, so they put her on bedrest.
Now, Leah and Chance, along with her treatment team, have decided that bed rest will be the best option for the twins and the best chance of their continued viability during this pregnancy. Since the high leak continues to rupture, her team has suggested that she could possibly be admitted to the hospital around 26 weeks’ gestation for close monitoring, depending on how the situation progresses.
We are raising money for her medical costs, as none of the life saving surgeries performed in Texas were covered under insurance, as well as her need to take time off of work, and her possible stay in the hospital moving forward. Leah and Chance are already the best parents, and we hope taking off the financial pressure of this time will enable her to be able to fully focus on healing and on the rest of her pregnancy.
IVF shotsMoments after finding out the transfer worked!They're girls!!Time for surgery...The girls when they were diagnosed with TTTS (Aurora up top, Evelyn down below).Organizer and beneficiary
Marcella Paron
Organizer
Hoschton, GA
Leah Hester
Beneficiary