A Texas twin saved her sister’s life by sending out distress signals from the womb leading doctors to deliver them early.
Poppy McBride saved her twin sister Winnie who could have lost her life if she wasn’t delivered right away.
Her heart rate began wavering on the monitor screen when her mother, Leah Mcbride, was 31 weeks pregnant; this led the doctors to take the right actions instantly.
According to The Mirror, “Despite being the smaller of the twins at 1lb 11oz, Poppy was perfectly healthy, and nothing was wrong with her heart.
“It was her sister, Winnie – born weighing 3lbs 8oz – who doctors hadn’t been concerned about during the pregnancy who was born with underdeveloped lungs and whisked to the intensive care unit.”
After delivering them, Winnie was taken to the intensive care unit, where she was kept for the next two weeks.
The poor baby had to undergo surgery to relieve her of a fluid that was built up on her brain.
“Leah and her husband, Austin, 27, a crane mechanic, found out at 21 weeks that their girls had twin-to-twin transfusion – where there is an imbalance of blood flow that causes one baby to become a donor and the other a recipient of all nutrients.”
Leah said that the doctors asked her to terminate one baby (poppy) to give all the required nutrients to the other baby (Winnie) however, she didn’t agree and decided to go for surgery to correct the blood-sharing imbalance between the twins.
Poppy, the smaller twin, had to stay in the hospital for a few days to gain some weight. She was then taken home by her parents, Leah and Austin.
Winnie was kept in the hospital under special care for 52 days. After making a miraculous recovery, she was discharged.
The stay-at-home mom from Lake Jackson, Texas, said that when she and her husband, Austin, found out about her pregnancy in 2019, they couldn’t contain their excitement.
“I was really excited. Then the doctors told us on one of our visits that we were expecting identical twin girls and had to be closely monitored.”
Leah said that she had two ultrasounds every month to check if her pregnancy was going smoothly and if there was nothing wrong with the babies.
“They told me to come back to the doctor first thing the next day,” she said. “Of course, I was Googling everything that might be wrong and came across twin-to-twin transfusion.”
“The doctor said he could barely see one twin, and the other twin was surrounded by so much fluid. So, they told me to terminate one baby.”
The Texas mom said that the doctors were concerned about Poppy and told her she might get a heart attack as she was passing all her nutrients to Winnie, who was also at risk.
“They thought Winnie might have a stroke, but I didn’t want to choose one baby over the other. Then I opted for the surgery as advised earlier by my gynecologist,” she said.
“So, we spent the night in shock at the day’s events and praying we would still have two heartbeats the next day,” she added. “I remember laying there most of the night trying to finalize the girls’ names because I couldn’t imagine something happening to them and not already having names picked out.”
The young mom said she was so grateful that the procedure was successful, and then she was sent home by the doctors and advised to have bed rest.
“At 27 weeks and six days, my waters broke, and I was rushed to the delivery ward and given steroids to stop her labor. We needed to buy as much time as possible because 28 weeks was still too early to deliver them safely,” she said.
Leah said that she managed to hold on for the next three weeks until Poppy’s heartbeat dropped to a dangerously low level, and finally, the doctors were left with no option but to deliver them right away.
The twin sisters were delivered on May 24, 2019. Today they live perfectly healthy lives and are each other’s best friends.
“Even now, Poppy takes care of Winnie even though Poppy is still much smaller,” said mom Leah.
“I love having a big and little. They are so close – it’s sweet.”
“They are as smart as can be,” she added. “Winnie is smarter than average. She can read books from memory at three.”
“I tried to move their beds apart recently, and they weren’t having it. They are both amazing.”
What are your thoughts on Poppy and Winnie’s story? Let us know in the comments.
Sources: The Mirror – Daily Mail
