UK's 'most premature twins' are now happy and healthy one year on

The mum of the UK’s ‘most premature twins’ says they’ve beaten the odds – and are thriving a year on.

Harley and Harry Crane were given 0% chance of survival when they were born at 22 weeks and five days – which, for context, is more than a week before the UK abortion limit.

The siblings shocked everyone when they came home after 140 days in the NICU.

Now 17 months old, the pair are happy and healthy at home.

Mum Jade Crane, 41, no longer feels ‘scared’ and knows her miracle babies are ‘staying here’.

Harley was born at 500g, but now is 24lbs and can stand up.

Her brother Harry was born weighing 520g and has now reached 20lbs and, though a little behind developmentally, he’s ‘trying to crawl around’.

Jade, a former mental health nurse and addiction counsellor, from Derby said: ‘We are so blessed and lucky to have them doing so well.

‘Last year we were really scared. They’re here and they are staying here. I feel confident in that now.’

She’s proud of how they’ve gone from ‘strength to strength’ as their personalities have shone through despite the challenges.

She added: ‘Their personalities haven’t changed since birth. Harley is the feisty one and Harry was Mr. Laid back.

‘That’s how they are now but amplified. They love each other.’

Jade and her husband Steve, 53, had 11 years of treatment before two implanted embryos on their eighth cycle of IVF resulted in twins.

She said: ‘I couldn’t let myself believe it. I was so fearful of a miscarriage or something going wrong. I literally didn’t do anything during the pregnancy as a result.

‘I was still in disbelief when we got to 20 weeks, and I hadn’t even hit my third trimester when I went into labour so we hadn’t bought anything.’

After leaking fluid, Jade went to Queen’s Medical Hospital, Nottingham, to get checked in October 2021.

An internal examination revealed she was experiencing a premature rupture of membranes – where the fetal membranes rupture before the onset of labour.

At 22 weeks old, everyone feared the twins wouldn’t survive.

Jade said: ‘They told me they were going to admit me but that I was probably having a miscarriage.

‘The doctor kept saying it was a miscarriage but I said it couldn’t be because I could feel the babies moving.’

The abortion law in the UK states that women can terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks in most cases – and doctors are not required to medically intervene before.

But the facility Jade was taken to operates as a teaching hospital, where doctors intervene with babies born 23 weeks and later.

At the time of going into labour, on October 26, 2021, Jade was still 30 hours away from the 23 week mark – but doctors chose to intervene.

After being born, Harley and Harry were intubated and taken to the NICU where they remained on ventilators.

Following birth, the twins battled chronic lung disease and underwent many surgeries.

Harley had to have a stoma bag fitted, which has since been removed, and Harry received injections in his eyes to help prevent premature blindness.

Jade called her children ‘little fighters’, and in July 2022 they came off oxygen support.

Jade said: ‘We have concerns over Harry potentially having a mild form of cerebral palsy.’

The family won’t get any official diagnosis until Harry is aged two, but Jade feels ‘lucky’ her twins are doing so well.

She said: ‘Back then they said they’ll have no quality of life

‘I remember I asked will they be able to feel love – at the time that’s all that mattered.’

The family are excited to be at home for the summer ahead.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Source: Read Full Article