{"id":264940,"date":"2022-03-28T14:47:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T19:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=264940"},"modified":"2022-03-30T16:16:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T21:16:31","slug":"mom-fought-twins-condition-doctors-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/mom-fought-twins-condition-doctors-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom fought for twin girls with life-threatening condition after doctors suggested abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Lydia Crandall, a 29-year-old mother of two, was delighted when she discovered she was pregnant despite her struggling marriage. Despite going through such a turbulent time, she celebrated the new life growing inside her. To her surprise, she developed a \u201cbaby bump\u201d early in her pregnancy and wondered if she might be carrying twins. An ultrasound at nine weeks confirmed she was, indeed, expecting two babies \u2014 but it also revealed something concerning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors urged her repeatedly to abort, but she refused<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crandall told Live Action News, \u201cAt first, I was told my babies had markers for Down syndrome, but it was later confirmed they had Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) which is a blood sharing disorder where one twin doesn\u2019t receive enough nutrients and the other receives too much. It\u2019s a serious condition affecting both babies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result of TTTS, the donor twin suffered from a collapsed bladder and the recipient twin had a stroke in the womb from too much blood flow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors told Crandall that the twins\u2019 condition was 80-100% fatal and advised her to abort the twins. That option wasn\u2019t acceptable to Crandall, who had always believed in the sanctity of life. She was determined to carry her babies to term. But the specialists repeatedly told her the situation was grim and she should consider abortion. <\/span><\/p>\n

When she held firm, they finally told her about a delicate treatment done in utero on the placenta that severs the veins and arteries causing the condition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Prenatal surgery for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome is saving lives<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Delicate in-utero surgery could save the twins<\/b><\/p>\n

The surgery was relatively new at the time and only a small number of surgeons nationwide performed the procedure. Desperate to save her babies\u2019 lives, Crandall traveled to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to undergo the procedure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point, the surgeons were unsure if they\u2019d be able to safely perform the surgery because of the location and position of the placenta,\u201d Crandall said. \u201cThey had to wait for the perfect window of opportunity to go in while exercising caution so as to not rupture the amniotic sac which could cause pre-term labor.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Crandall woke up, she was told that the donor twin, Brooke Faith, would most likely not survive through the night as her umbilical cord was barely attached to the placenta. The twins\u2019 case of TTTS was the earliest onset and reportedly the most severe the doctors had ever seen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crandall said, \u201cDuring this trial, I was experiencing a crisis of faith in my heart. So, I am grateful that we had so many faithful friends and family lifting us up in prayer. Their faithfulness sustained me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Baby Brooke did<\/em> survive the night and after a month, Crandall went home and was assigned complete bed rest. But she had to face her crumbling marriage, and her husband\u2019s verbal abuse impacted her emotionally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand the despair unmarried women might feel when faced with an unplanned pregnancy,\u201c she told Live Action News. \u201cMy husband wasn\u2019t supportive during this rocky time, but I knew I had to get through it for my babies. It\u2019s important to remember that the difficulties experienced during pregnancy is short-term, compared to the time our babies will live outside the womb. Each of us is here today because someone chose life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At 34 weeks gestation, Crandall went into pre-term labor. Doctors performed a C-section out of concern for the babies\u2019 health. When the babies were born, they weighed two and four pounds and stayed in the NICU for a month. When they went home, they were required oxygen. When the twins were two months old, Crandall and her husband divorced.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brooke, the donor twin, the smaller of the two, suffered a severe respiratory illness when she was two years old. She was intubated and hospitalized for 54 days. The recipient twin, Autumn Hope, later underwent surgery for a \u201clazy eye\u201d resulting from her stroke.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the twins are 14 years old and doing well, though they are a bit smaller in stature than most teens at the same age. Crandall has been married for 11 years to a caring man.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very grateful for God\u2019s grace and goodness,” Crandall told Live Action News. “As I reflect on my ordeal, I realize God doesn\u2019t make mistakes. His timing and His will are not our own. Even when we don\u2019t understand the trials and tribulations in our lives, what we are going through is part of a bigger plan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lydia Crandall, a 29-year-old mother of two, was delighted when she discovered she was pregnant despite her struggling marriage. Despite going through such a turbulent time, she celebrated the new life growing inside her. To her surprise, she developed a \u201cbaby bump\u201d early in her pregnancy and wondered if she might be carrying twins. An […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":798,"featured_media":264941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[9455,9459],"tags":[19,8190,16532,12097,10099,5561,892],"yoast_head":"\nMom fought for twin girls with life-threatening condition after doctors suggested abortion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lydia Crandall developed a \u201cbaby bump\u201d early in pregnancy. 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