Abigail Whitlock's dream pregnancy turned to a nightmare when doctors discovered she was suffering from a rare condition and urged her to terminate one of her unborn identical twins.
She was due to have two boys but five months into the pregnancy they were diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). The condition happens when blood vessels in the placenta aren't equally connected, causing one of the fetuses to take more of the nutrients.
"It was the most emotionally taxing experience we've ever had. I would cry all the time and just envision the worst possible outcome," Abigail told DailyMail.com.
Doctors booked her in for a risky laser surgery where a tiny beam of radiation was used to seal off abnormal blood vessel connections on the placenta. But there were complications, and doctors gave Abigail and her husband Stuart an impossible ultimatum: sacrifice one to save the other or risk losing both.
The medical team strongly recommended that the smaller boy's umbilical cord be clamped to allow the other twin a greater chance of survival. However, Abigail and Stuart refused to let one of their twins go, choosing instead to defer on that decision for a few days.
"By chance - which Abigail chalks up to 'the faith of friends and family, and the mercy of God' - at the next check-up, the ailing twin's condition had miraculously improved."
The boys - Harvey and Bellamy - are now thriving and healthy at 15 months old.
Their pregnancy had gone without a hitch initially. It was five months into their pregnancy that they realized something was wrong during their 20-week screening scan due to too much amniotic fluid. They were then referred to specialists who confirmed TTTS diagnosis.
"I wanted to hear their little cries after entering the world - not say goodbye before they had even got here," Abigail recalled how she felt at diagnosis time.
The couple underwent specialized laser surgery called fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP) in Seattle. Though initially successful, Bellamy later developed hydrops fetalis but eventually recovered miraculously by their next checkup.
"We were shocked, overwhelmed and ultimately overjoyed with the good news," said Abigail about Bellamy’s recovery.
In August 2023, at 34 weeks, Harvey and Bellamy were delivered via c-section weighing only 4lbs each. Thanks to intervention and care in NICU ward, today they are completely healthy despite their troubling past.
"It's been overwhelming... My husband and I could barely function because we feared losing them," shared Abigail about their emotional journey post-birth on TikTok channel @twinmomtales where she has over 150k followers.