Christel Davies feared her unborn twins might not survive her pregnancy – but yesterday (Monday) her miracle girls Evie and Zoe have started school for the first time in Toowoomba.
The sisters were born five weeks early in July 2017 at Mater Mothers' Hospital at South Brisbane, after their mum was told by doctors at her 19-week pregnancy scan that one of her girls might not survive due to a dangerous build-up of fluid on her brain.
Mrs Davies described her pregnancy as "stressful", not knowing if her twins would make it.
Born on 5 July, 2017, Evie arrived first, weighing 2.2kg followed by Zoe, who weighed 2.16kg.
"There was a point in my pregnancy when I thought Evie wouldn't actually make it," Mrs Davies, of Darling Heights, said.
"We had several scans which were showing an abnormal amount of fluid on her brain.
"Evie's prognosis was dire – she would either pass away shortly after birth or have significant physical and mental deficiencies. We were told she may never sit up, walk, or talk.
"The scans showed us something was wrong but, in the end, she was OK.
"Evie came out perfectly healthy and was screaming. She's a miracle and so too is her sister."
One in five Queensland babies are born at a Mater Mothers' hospital each year and many require care at the Neonatal Critical Care Unit at South Brisbane – one of the largest units of its kind in Australia.
Although Mrs Davies said things were "pretty uncertain there for a while", thanks to the care and support of the Mater medical, nursing and midwifery teams, she was eventually able to bring Evie and Zoe home to meet big sister Piper, now 7.
"We can't thank the Mater hospital enough for saving our babies' lives," Mrs Davies said.
Both Evie and Zoe received around-the-clock care for nine days in the Special Care Nursery Unit at Mater Mothers'.
Dropping their twins off to school for the first time, Mrs Davies and her husband Brendan said they were excited to watch their daughters "learn and thrive into young girls" at Rangeville State School.
"They both have a thirst for knowledge but have their own unique way of pursuing it," Mrs Davies said.
"They have been looking forward to meeting their teacher and making new friends."
