Author: Laura Mind
I am finally, after 7 months, able to tell my twin birth story, which involved a full placenta abruption with twins. It’s taken 7 months for me to be able to speak about this without me saying it as if I’m a 3rd person, totally removed.
The birth of my twins
On the 15/2/2019 my DCDA twin boys were born 1.26 & 1.27 pm on a Friday. I was one week from my scheduled C sec, but I wouldn’t make it.
At 10.35am, after feeling somewhat off and not taking my kids to school (at the time a mother of 3), I reached over to grab my then 1 year olds toy to feel bleeding. I reached down, my hand was bright red! I knew I had to get to the hospital straight away. Then I got my 7&1 year olds into the car and drove myself 20 mins to the local hospital.
My mum’s house is one minute from the hospital. I drove up her driveway screaming beeping my Astra sedan horn furiously. “Get in now I’m bleeding” I screamed at her. She got into the driver’s seat and as I tried to move to the passenger seat the blood started leaving me at an alarming rate. She drove to the hospital where I got out alone. l walked the 67 steps, it took to get through the door to the women’s assessment unit. By this time, a trail of blood was flowing from me and pooling to the ground at my feet.
I arrived at the hospital in a pool of blood
I got to the counter and the lady told me to sit and wait. As I said angrily “I’m losing them”, a lady seated got up and said “Mam, you are bleeding and there is a trail”, her face darting towards the door. My face whitened. I was rushed into the doors where numerous midwife’s, doctors and a surgeon greeted me. “You are truly are a strong women” he said in disbelief. I said nothing.
My emergency c-section for twins
Only one heartbeat could be found (twin A’s). They prepped me for surgery and called the child’s father who arrived just in the nick of time to see twin A be born. As his Dad cut cord they went in to get twin B. Suddenly I felt pain a sharpness in my rib cage, like bringing winded, then a snap sensation like breaking a chicken bone . “I CAN’T BREATH”!!!!!!! I screamed at my then partner. “Iiiiii can’ttt” trailing of … “She can’t breathe” he yelled. The nurse replying “yes you can, yes you can”. My partner grabbed the suction hose, pulling a mass from my throat.
I lay there, half in two places. Fretting, as I didn’t get to see Twin B, nor could I hear him. I was stitched up and moved to a separate room. When I asked where’s the other baby and they replied that they were still working on him. He was born not breathing, and they were still trying to resuscitate him. My heart sank. After a 1 hour 40 minutes after working on him they prepared him for evacuation to the women’s and children’s NICU, as he would need ongoing assistance that the hospital could not currently provide.
I was able to take one photo I saw him for one moment before they moved him by ambulance. I’ve not been able to look at for 7 months until today. It goes to show that some of the sickest can rise to be some of our strongest!!
Twins were in separate hospitals
As my son was moved to the women’s and children’s hospital NICU Ward, I did not see him for 4 days. He spent those 4 days on cooling mat, not being fed, unable to be touched or held as they were worried about seizure activity. My twin A however, remained in the hospital of birth and he stayed there for two weeks in the special care unit. Here he thrived and needed really no ongoing assistance, just some monitoring to make sure there was nothing on going from the birthing experience.
Twin B had MRI’s and extensive testing for seizures and brain damage. Thankfully, so far, all tests have come back positive. He does have a slight light spot in his brain but doctors are not concerned they call it his sparkle. He will need ongoing appointments as he grows.
Our twins were reunited after 15 days
The twins were reunited after a total of 15 days. Twin B, my sick twin, was moved back to where twin A was, where they spent two days happily together in a joint cot before release.
When they came home was the best moment! But I will never forget the first time I held them – twin A was 2 days after birth, and twin B was a long 4 days. These photos tell of my triumph and you can see the joy in my face.
Full placenta abruption with twins
My experience was not normal. I suffered a full placenta abruption with twins, and I lost over 4 litres of blood.
I looked so sick that day, and no one still can believe we survived. But we did. And we are now all thriving.
Shannon, twin B and Ryder, twin A.
The pictures of Shannon’s early days still scare me. But we all made it.
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