Parents Jodie Lewis and Niall Trew were surprised to find out they were expecting twins when they attended an early scan when Jodie was just seven weeks pregnant. Like any expectant parents, they were excited for the life they would have with their two babies.
In twin pregnancies, women are often offered more scans, and at a routine 26-week scan, Niall and Jodie, from Gilfach Goch, were given the news that one of their babies had an issue with blood flow. The next few weeks were filled with anxiety and as the growth of one of the babies slowed down, Jodie was admitted to hospital and spent the Christmas period being monitored throughout the day.
"I was being monitored a minimum of three times a day. Every time I had to have a scan or a doppler my heart would be in my mouth waiting to see if we were ok for another few hours or if this was it, and the babies needed to come out," Mam Jodie, 29, explained. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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She described the moment she was told about the issue with blood flow as really scary. She said: "I didn’t really understand the risks of what it actually meant and I tried my hardest not to Google it and take the information from my consultant. But as the weeks went on and the condition continued to worsen at each scan then it really sank in the severity of the situation, especially when Jax’s growth started to slow down also."
The time to deliver the babies eventually came when Jodie was rushed into theatre for an emergency c-section after one of the babies' hearts stopped beating. Baby boys Frankie and Jax were born on January 2, 2023, at 34 weeks at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
Jodie said: "I didn’t get to see both the babies straight away, it was actually Frankie - the baby that wasn’t having blood flow issues - who was taken straight to the NICU as he was having issues with his oxygen levels.
"Jax was able to come to the ward with me but then when he started to refuse feeds he was sent to the NICU also and, following that, a few days later, transferred to the Heath with suspected NEC (necrotising enterocolitis). It was so hard to think that my babies were to be split up and I was so torn as to where I was meant to go but in the end I was advised that, due to Jax’s case being more severe, to go with him and my sister was awarded parental rights and she stayed with Frankie in Prince Charles as a stand in mam.
"It was awful to be separated from Frankie and it’s time I'll never get back and it tore me up the thought of them being separated but at the time I was just going through the motions and Jax needed me to be there for feeding and to consult with his surgeons which, luckily, he didn’t ended up needing the surgery. He showed us how strong he was during his time in the Heath as he really just fought the whole time and came on massively."
Jax was just four days old when he was transferred to the University Hospital of Wales for specialist treatment. It was a further two weeks before Jax and Frankie were finally reunited. The reunion, however, was brief as baby Jax was experiencing signs of anaemia and wasn’t responding to medication. Jax was given a lifesaving blood transfusion at just three weeks old to treat his condition. Further blood tests revealed a low haemoglobin level with Jax struggling to create his own blood cells, which led to a second blood transfusion being given two weeks later.
Jax's life was saved by a stranger who generously donated their blood to help babies and people like him in desperate need. Jodie said: “To whoever the donors are that Jax received the blood from - we appreciate you so much and will be forever grateful.”
Both boys spent six weeks in hospital and came home the day after their due date. They have since recovered from their treatments and are now fit and healthy and enjoying their time together with mam, dad and the wider family.
Jodie’s partner Niall said: “To see the boys growing every day is a blessing and I will never take it for granted. I look forward to our life as a family and all the things we are going to be able to do together. I really can’t express my gratitude enough to the donors who helped Jax. I am so grateful for you allowing my boy to thrive. Thanks to their generosity, I am looking forward to sharing my very first Father’s Day with both my boys.”
Jodie added: "I would like to say to people, please just do this amazing thing. Make a life-changing blood donation. You really don’t know how important this could be to a family or individual.
Alan Prosser, Welsh Blood Service director, said: “Every day, around 350 donations are needed to help the 19 hospitals in Wales we supply, including Prince Charles Hospital, where Jax received his transfusions. As a service, we rely on the generosity of people living in Wales to provide vital donations to patients, and around 5,000 blood donations each year are used due to childbirth.
“By giving up just one hour of your time, you have a unique opportunity to support patients like Jax who rely on transfusions to survive. National Blood Donor Week is an opportunity for blood services across the UK to raise awareness of the lifesaving importance of blood donation and encourage those who have never donated to give it a go.
“Sharing stories like Jodie and Niall’s highlights the true value of just one blood donation and the difference it makes, not just to the person receiving the transfusion, but also to their family. Thanks to our donors Jodie and Niall can look forward to those special milestones that all parents plan in those often sleep-deprived but precious early years.”
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