Against all the odds miracle twins Sonny and Lincoln Hague were today celebrating their first birthdays.
It has been a roller-coaster year for parents Laura and Simon Hague who were warned by doctors the identical twins might not live to reach their first birthday.
Just 22 weeks into the pregnancy, a scan revealed Lincoln had a cancerous tumour.
Laura underwent an emergency caesarean at Hull Royal Infirmary.
Aged just 48 hours and weighing just 2lb and 2oz, Lincoln underwent a major four-hour operation to remove the tumour.
Doctors gave him only a 15 per cent chance of survival.
Lincoln pulled through, but that was not the end of the drama for the Sutton Park family.
At birth, Sonny – weighing 2lb 4oz – seemed fine, but five days later he had a bleed on his brain.
It led to him needing fluid drained from his brain twice a week.
In August last year, a surgical tube was fitted at Leeds General Infirmary, helping speed-up the process.
Laura and Simon were warned the bleed could lead to Sonny being unable to see, hear or walk.
But like his brother, Sonny has defied the odds and the pair are coming on leaps and bounds.
Laura, 26, said: “Although we had months of ups and downs, we now have two beautiful boys that although still have some problems are making great progress.
“We hope this story gives hopes and shows other people that miracles do happen.
“Lincoln’s condition is believed to be one of the only cases in the world in a boy at that age, so there has been a lot of interest in the tumour from as far afield as America.”
Simon, 27, an assistant manager at an east Hull convenience store, said: “When we found out about the tumour it was very hard to take in and there were so many things on my mind about what we could do.
“I would like to thank everyone at the hospital and the chaplain Peter Nelson.
“I also wouldn’t have got through this difficult time without friends and family, especially my partner Laura.”
The pair were not allowed to hold, or even touch, Sonny for two weeks and Lincoln for four weeks as they were too fragile.
The twins spent three months in Hull Royal Infirmary. Their parents were given a room so they could keep a vigil.
Doctors were so unsure about whether or not they would survive that they advised Laura and Simon to get their babies blessed after 12 days.
Although the twins are improving, they still need to attend monthly check-ups at the Women and Children’s Hospital, next door to Hull Royal Infirmary.
Simon said: “It was hard at the start not being able to hold our kids’ hands or pick them up. They didn’t feel like ours.”
It was not until a couple of months after Lincoln and Sonny were born that they started to see some signs of improvement.
Simon “The initial signs were when they were moved from a ventilator to a Cpap (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. They then breathed on their own.
“It has been a roller-coaster as we never knew what was going to happen. During the early days, they told us to enjoy what we could. But there was not much to enjoy.”
The family were today holding a birthday party, with dad Simon giving them both a Hull City shirt.
Simon said: “It is strange that they are celebrating their first birthdays. It does not feel like a year, but that is probably because we could not bring them home at first.
“During the early days I was worried they wouldn’t make it. However, I hope our story gives other people hope not to give up.”
taken from ‘This is Hull & East Riding’