The Hard Twins

Hello Friends & Family- As many of you know, my brother Collier and his wife Ally unexpectedly delivered their identical twin girls at just 22 weeks 2 days.

In August they found out they were going to have twins which automatically put them in the high risk category. After a few visits with the high risk OB/GYN she picked up on an imbalance between the twins, so after close examination at the twins anatomy scan ultrasound they recommended that they go see a specialist in Anchorage. At the first visit with the specialist he diagnosed them with TTTS- Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome.

The specialist informed them of the potential outcomes and said that they need to keep a very close eye on it because it can change rapidly and recommended twice a week ultrasounds in Anchorage 3hrs from their home in Soldotna. After the second visit he said things were not heading in the right direction and that they needed to get to Seattle to have a procedure that was not available in Alaska.

They headed back home to pack bags and head to Seattle the next day at 2:10pm. As they were checking in at the airport the next day Ally had some alarming bleeding so they immediately headed to see the specialist. After getting the all clear they got on the next flight that was scheduled to take off at 5:15pm. After about an hour of sitting at the airport they got news that the flight was delayed due to a big wind storm in Seattle, "bomb cyclone" they called it.

Facing the real uncertainty of not knowing if they would make it out in time all they could do was wait and pray. Thankfully the flight got rescheduled for 7:30 that night. They arrived at the hotel at 1am and Ally went into surgery the next day at 3pm. The in utero laser ablation procedure went well. They also drained off 3 liters of amniotic fluid which was a byproduct of the twin to twin transfusion and was putting a lot of extra stress on Ally and the babies.

The next morning at about 8am Ally went into labor and gave birth to two precious baby girls, Lula Mae Rose 12oz and Wendy Ann 17.4oz. They were immediately rushed off to the NICU where the staff worked to get them stable.

The helpless feeling of watching your child in the NICU cling to life is indescribable. As a parent there is nothing you can do but be there in the room with them and pray. And PRAY they did- as well as a lot of you reading this now!

Lula Mae went home to be with Jesus later that night around 10:30. Our little warrior Wendy fought hard and made it 7days when she passed on Thanksgiving evening around 9pm after complications from a ruptured intestine.

Their lives were short but precious. During Wendy's 7 days on this earth they got to feed her, change her diaper, hold her hand and help with routine cares in the NICU. We are extremely grateful for all the nurses and staff at University of Washington Medical Center. They made Collier & Ally's time with the girls a sweet and memorable one.

Unfortunately each day in the NICU is extremely expensive on top of the procedure Ally had to have, all the specialist visits, air travel, hotel stay etc.

From Collier & Ally-

So many of you have reached out to us and asked how you can help, THANK YOU to everyone who has been following the terrible rollercoaster ride we have been on, been praying for us, supporting us, loving on us- you all are truly near and dear to us! Most of all we want to share the hope that we have in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. In the spirit of the text Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" We are certain that through our ever growing faith in Christ we will see our girls again in heaven when we get to meet our savior face to face.