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As some of you may know, my sister-in-law Claudia and my brother Julian were expecting twin girls, Mia and Maya. With broken hearts and shattered souls my family asks for your help. My beautiful nieces gained their angel wings August 22, 2019.
I was trying to make this as short as possible, but my sister and brother asked me to tell their story.
Mia and Maya were due no later than September 3rd at which would have made Claudia 36 weeks pregnant and this far along in a twin pregnancy it is very common for the babies to be delivered and not be considered premature.
On Thursday August 22nd my sister-in-law and my brother decided to go to Kaiser to have the babies checked out because they were not feeling the girls kick or move much all day. Throughout my sisters pregnancy she was told that if she ever felt like something was off or that the girls were not moving as much she can always go in and they will perform an ultrasound. Each time she went in they would tell her that the girls were okay and that they didn’t have enough room to move around which is why she would not feel them as active as usual. And, every single time they went in they would be reassured that everything was fine and they would be sent home.
Sometime in May or June when Claudia was about 5 or 6 months pregnant they told her that the girls had what is called TTTS, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome which is something that is common with twins that share the same placenta. This means there is a disproportionate blood supply, resulting in high mortality. If TTTS is left untreated, the survival rate is 10%-15%.
Mia was supposed to be born first and was supposed to be forming the path for Maya but she was much smaller because of the TTTS, and they were both at risk. Claudia was told that she might have to have an emergency C-section if the percentage difference kept increasing. Claudia and my brother asked the specialist if it was better to have the babies delivered earlier and have them in the NICU instead of keeping them inside to be at higher risk but, the specialist decided to just keep monitoring the babies every week at least twice a week to observe them and make sure that the percentage difference was not increasing to 50%.
As the weeks went by the percentage rate fluctuated at 30% difference then up to 33%. Then the rate went down to 25% and back up to 29% and all of a sudden they stopped doing the twin-to-twin transfusion as of Thursday August 21st. At this point they had been seeing the specialist every week at least twice a week to have stress tests done on the babies, ultrasounds, and also to have Iron injected for Claudia.
Thursday August 21st they had an appointment and the specialist told Claudia and Julian that the babies were “perfect” and that since they were doing so good they didn’t have to deliver the babies by September 3rd anymore. Instead he changed her due date back to September 24th which was going to be her full term date (40 weeks pregnant).
We were all excited because the specialist told them that the babies had stopped doing the transfusion and that they were doing very good and there was no rush on getting them out before September 3rd. They went home and slept through the night. The following night I received a call from my brother at 1:04 AM .
I had fallen asleep not even an hour before he called me and at first I thought it was my alarm but my fiancé tells me that someone was calling. I looked at my phone and noticed it was a missed call from my brother and my first thought was that the babies were coming. But, when I returned his call all I heard was my sister-in-law and my brother sobbing and screaming in the background. At this point I knew something was wrong. I asked what was happening and he said to me, “I need you to come to Kaiser… there are no more heartbeats”. My heart shattered into a million pieces.
Five days away from September 3rd my sister lost her babies. She went in for an ultrasound to make sure her baby girls were okay and she received the worse news of her life. She was sent home that night so she can rest and process everything but she returned three hours later because she felt a lot of pressure. She was now in labor.
After being induced and being in labor for two days her body could no longer handle the pain and she had a C-section. Mia and Maya were the most beautiful little angels I have ever laid my eyes on. They were delivered August 24th at 10:27 PM and 10:28 PM.
Mia and Maya should have been here… they should have been going home with their mommy and daddy in their car seats and sleeping in their cribs. They had EVERYTHING ready for them.
My brother and Claudia now have to plan a funeral for their babies and on top of that they have to pay medical expenses. Family and friends, my family and I want to thank you all for the love you have showed Mia and Maya and my brother and sister. Thank you for your prayers and kind words. We ask that you please give Claudia and Julian their time and space to heal and still keep them in your thoughts.
Thank you.
I was trying to make this as short as possible, but my sister and brother asked me to tell their story.
Mia and Maya were due no later than September 3rd at which would have made Claudia 36 weeks pregnant and this far along in a twin pregnancy it is very common for the babies to be delivered and not be considered premature.
On Thursday August 22nd my sister-in-law and my brother decided to go to Kaiser to have the babies checked out because they were not feeling the girls kick or move much all day. Throughout my sisters pregnancy she was told that if she ever felt like something was off or that the girls were not moving as much she can always go in and they will perform an ultrasound. Each time she went in they would tell her that the girls were okay and that they didn’t have enough room to move around which is why she would not feel them as active as usual. And, every single time they went in they would be reassured that everything was fine and they would be sent home.
Sometime in May or June when Claudia was about 5 or 6 months pregnant they told her that the girls had what is called TTTS, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome which is something that is common with twins that share the same placenta. This means there is a disproportionate blood supply, resulting in high mortality. If TTTS is left untreated, the survival rate is 10%-15%.
Mia was supposed to be born first and was supposed to be forming the path for Maya but she was much smaller because of the TTTS, and they were both at risk. Claudia was told that she might have to have an emergency C-section if the percentage difference kept increasing. Claudia and my brother asked the specialist if it was better to have the babies delivered earlier and have them in the NICU instead of keeping them inside to be at higher risk but, the specialist decided to just keep monitoring the babies every week at least twice a week to observe them and make sure that the percentage difference was not increasing to 50%.
As the weeks went by the percentage rate fluctuated at 30% difference then up to 33%. Then the rate went down to 25% and back up to 29% and all of a sudden they stopped doing the twin-to-twin transfusion as of Thursday August 21st. At this point they had been seeing the specialist every week at least twice a week to have stress tests done on the babies, ultrasounds, and also to have Iron injected for Claudia.
Thursday August 21st they had an appointment and the specialist told Claudia and Julian that the babies were “perfect” and that since they were doing so good they didn’t have to deliver the babies by September 3rd anymore. Instead he changed her due date back to September 24th which was going to be her full term date (40 weeks pregnant).
We were all excited because the specialist told them that the babies had stopped doing the transfusion and that they were doing very good and there was no rush on getting them out before September 3rd. They went home and slept through the night. The following night I received a call from my brother at 1:04 AM .
I had fallen asleep not even an hour before he called me and at first I thought it was my alarm but my fiancé tells me that someone was calling. I looked at my phone and noticed it was a missed call from my brother and my first thought was that the babies were coming. But, when I returned his call all I heard was my sister-in-law and my brother sobbing and screaming in the background. At this point I knew something was wrong. I asked what was happening and he said to me, “I need you to come to Kaiser… there are no more heartbeats”. My heart shattered into a million pieces.
Five days away from September 3rd my sister lost her babies. She went in for an ultrasound to make sure her baby girls were okay and she received the worse news of her life. She was sent home that night so she can rest and process everything but she returned three hours later because she felt a lot of pressure. She was now in labor.
After being induced and being in labor for two days her body could no longer handle the pain and she had a C-section. Mia and Maya were the most beautiful little angels I have ever laid my eyes on. They were delivered August 24th at 10:27 PM and 10:28 PM.
Mia and Maya should have been here… they should have been going home with their mommy and daddy in their car seats and sleeping in their cribs. They had EVERYTHING ready for them.
My brother and Claudia now have to plan a funeral for their babies and on top of that they have to pay medical expenses. Family and friends, my family and I want to thank you all for the love you have showed Mia and Maya and my brother and sister. Thank you for your prayers and kind words. We ask that you please give Claudia and Julian their time and space to heal and still keep them in your thoughts.
Thank you.