A couple who thought one of their twins “wouldn’t make it” due to a heart defect are celebrating a special milestone.
Samira Green and Nathan Marshall, from Shoreham, were told to expect one of their sons would be born with a heart problem but they did not anticipate it being 117 days before they could finally take their babies home.
Identical twins Rory and Rudi were born on June 4, 2022, after it was decided to deliver them early at 32 weeks due to Rudi’s heart problem, which was diagnosed during Samira’s pregnancy.
After their arrival at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, the boys were taken straight to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU), which provides intensive care and special care for premature and sick newborn babies.
Samira, a 36-year-old anaesthetist registrar, said: “There was a moment when the boys had just been delivered when they both cried and that was the biggest relief that they were here and they were OK.
“But I don’t think we had any idea at that point what we were in for, in terms of the months ahead.”
When the twins were around four weeks old, while Rory was at the point of being well enough to go home, Rudi’s condition was deteriorating.
The next few months for Rudi were very “up and down” and at the end of August he was rushed to Evelina London Children’s Hospital in London after taking a turn for the worse.
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Samira said: “At that point Rudi was really unwell and there were days when we weren’t sure if he was going to make it.”
On September 20 Rudi had open-heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart.
Just nine days later he was discharged and the family were finally able to go home together.
Now, to celebrate the twins reaching their first birthday and to thank the Ronald McDonald House charity, which supported the couple by providing them with free accommodation in Brighton and London at its Ronald McDonald Houses during Rudi’s treatment, Samira and Nathan have pledged to raise thousands of pounds for the charity.
“It costs £5,000 to sponsor a room in a Ronald McDonald House for a whole year, so that’s our target,” said Samira.
“Our first big fundraiser will be a nine-mile run from the Brighton house to our home in Shoreham on June 3. Nathan and I are taking on the challenge with the boys in a running buggy and we’ve recruited some friends and family, including my 69-year-old dad, to join us so there’ll be a group of ten or so, all running for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK.”
The run will take place the day before the twins’ first birthday and will celebrate just how far they have come over the past 12 months.
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