KC Miracle Twins Celebrate 1st Birthday

Story by: Guest Contributor

First posted on 08-15-2007

Identical Twins who survived deadly in utero syndrome turn one! TTTS (Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome) kills twice as many babies per year as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) does!

Kansas City — One year ago, Lori and Russell George delivered their beautiful identical twin girls. There was no celebration because they were born a little over 3 ½ months premature. They weighed just 1 lb 12 oz and 2 lb 4 oz. They were born early due a fetal syndrome called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome.

As seen on ABC Medical Mysteries, Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) can strike at any time in a pregnancy with twins or multiples that share a placenta. An estimated 4500 pregnancies each year are affected by TTTS. Currently as high as 60% are lost everyday, or on average 15 babies per day. With TTTS, babies share blood vessels, which can lead to one baby to receive an overflow of blood and nutrients while the other receives little to none. Both babies are at risk from either heart failure or anemia. There are no guarantees with any available treatment but no treatment is almost always a guarantee of loss. In the case of the George’s, there babies were in advanced stages of TTTS and were very close to losing them both. Their best choice for survival was to deliver them very premature. So early in fact, they had barely a 50% chance of survival, but to not deliver them, meant certain death.

“With proper diagnosis and treatment, we can save over two-thirds we lose every year,” said Lonnie Somers, Executive Director and Founder of the Fetal Hope Foundation (a foundation that provides support to families diagnosed with a fetal distress). “Awareness is key and for the families to be the advocate. Seeking organizations like ours or others, such as the TTTS Foundation, can help families with the information and hope they need to save their babies”, says Somers.

Today the George’s twin girls have overcome amazing odds. Not only did they survive TTTS, but also survived an early premature birth; thanks to their doctors who knew enough to enlist quick and expert help. Many families are not so fortunate, as the medical community is not fully educated in how to diagnose and treat TTTS. “We credit their lives being saved to a lot of people,” said Lori George, mother of the twins. “Unfortunately, not all women will have a doctor as knowledgeable as ours. Our hope is to spread the word about this disease so all women are aware and can watch for early warning signs on their own.”
Lori and Russell George now have a lot to celebrate during their girls first birthday. While many gifts will be bestowed on the two beautiful girls, no doubt the greatest gift for the George’s is their everyday constant reminder of how fortunate they are to have them. They know all too well how close they were to losing their precious miracle girls.

Somers said, “Lori and Russell’s girls have overcome impossible odds and are certainly why you should never give up hope!”

Lori and Russell are looking to bring the Fetal Hope’s national charity TTTS Race for Hope event to the greater Kansas City area sometime in 2009.

About Fetal Hope: Aligned with some of the world’s leading fetal medicine centers and doctors, Fetal Hope has been organized to provide accurate and factual information for families dealing with syndromes such as Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), Acardiac Twinning (Trap sequence), Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS) and Fetal Lower Urinary Tract Obstruction. Our organization is about HOPE. No family should ever be left and offered no hope.

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