UK's youngest surviving twin boys reunited with NHS and HM Coastguard team who helped save them
Jenson and Ruben Powell don’t know that they’re
record-setting twins. As they reach their first birthday, their mum and dad are
happy to say they won’t let them grow up without reminding them as often as
they can.
They are the youngest surviving pre-term twin boys born in
Britain, arriving at just 22 weeks and 6 days. Weighing in at just 535 and 590
grams, Jenson was given a 0% and Ruben a 20 -30% chance of making it beyond the
first 48 hours.
“It really is a story of hope and miracles,” their mum, Jennie
Powell, says. “They defied every set of odds that they were given.”
Picture: Ben Burchill/PA Wire |
Two years earlier, their son, Linnie, had lost his fight for
survival (born at 23 + 4 weeks) as a result of complications related to the
rarely-mentioned streptococcal B (Strep B) infection.
“The twins’ pregnancy was being closely watched as a result
of what we had been through when we lost our first child,” says Jennie. “We were
advised to get away from things, and try to be as relaxed as possible – to be
away from work and the ‘demons’ associated with our previous pregnancy.
“We have a holiday in Cornwall every year, and we were just
at the end of two weeks away. I was nervous,
because of the timings, but it also meant I was much more aware of the warning
signs. I felt some pain, and just knew that something wasn’t right.
“We went straight to hospital, and it was suddenly all too
familiar. The hospital ran tests and confirmed I was having contractions and my
blood results indicated an infection. It was later confirmed as Chorioamnionitis caused again
by streptococci group B.
“Everything that followed, in the days after that, we can
only describe as miraculous – every decision made by the people who were
looking after us ensured that our boys survived and are here today.”
Jennie presented at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske on
August 16. The first critical decision by the maternity team was to treat
Jennie with steroids to provide the babies with support for their chronically
underdeveloped lungs.
“The Royal Cornwall Hospital doesn’t have the ‘Level 3’
neonatal care unit we needed and, when the team started making calls, there
were no spaces at our local hospital at home in Brighton - or the three other
closest units to Cornwall.
“The hospital team didn’t give up calling, and when the John
Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, said they could take us that afternoon we found
ourselves being airlifted by the HM Coastguard helicopter from Newquay.”
Capt. Jorg Brunner, co-pilot Ivan Hamilton, chief crewman
Ian Copley, and winchman-paramedic Niall Hanson flew Jennie, and midwife Jane
Parke, to Oxford.
“That was a lifesaving decision. Getting me to a Level 3
unit quickly allowed the team at the John Radcliffe Hospital to continue
monitoring us, when we needed it most.
“After that day, Jane and the helicopter crew didn’t have
any idea about what had happened to us – that the boys had survived. Being able
to meet them again on the anniversary is so, so wonderful.”
Jenson and Ruben Powell were delivered by emergency
c-section on August 17, at 16:20 and 16:21. They were taken immediately to
neonatal intensive care - between them weighing less than 1.2 kilos - and
facing a catalogue of major events in the weeks and months to come.
“I was able to touch a finger on each hand before they were
taken away, with Rich following them. When I was able to go and see them in
their incubators, side-by-side, these tiny little boys, the nurse who was with
me couldn’t give us much hope.
“We were being prepared for the likelihood of saying goodbye
to another child. Boys have a lower survival rate, and we were preparing to see
one of them not make it. Ruben had maybe 20-30%. Jenson wasn’t expected to pull
through.”
As 48 hours passed, and with the family still counting in
hours rather than days and months, the boys kept fighting. At 8 days
post-delivery, Ruben had his first lifesaving operation after his intestines
began failing.
“The consultant had an instinct. It was incredible, some
scans aren’t normally carried out unless a baby is presenting symptoms but he
decided to take a look just in case and he found he had developed Necrotizing
Enterocolitis (NEC) where the intestines start to die. Again we were told, the
survival rate for such an operation was incredibly low even for a child
weighing 1.5kilos.”
Ruben was just a third of that weight, but he survived the
operation, and a stoma was created removing over 5cm of intestine, he had a
stoma until he was 5 months old. After that, the procedure was reversed and
today, his body is functioning normally.
Jenson meanwhile had his own battle to fight, with
weaknesses in his lungs a particular concern but, like his brother, he too
fought on and grew stronger every day.
As well as being the youngest surviving twin boys, the
Powell pair are also the youngest to receive a vital eye injection to cure retinopathy
of prematurity (ROP) – the same condition which took Stevie Wonder’s sight.
“The standard of care we received was outstanding. The boys
had it all – infections, more than 20 blood transfusions, sepsis, pneumonia,
eye injections and laser surgery, hernia reversal you name it. The team at John
Radcliffe were on top of everything.”
“Today, the boys are thriving. They will continue to have
chronic lung disease until they are about three, which can make them more
vulnerable to colds and infections, requiring oxygen support but otherwise they
are doing really well. We sometimes have to stop and remind ourselves of all
they’ve been through, because it’s so different today,” says Rich.
“A year ago, it felt like Cornwall and Oxford were the last
places we needed to be. We hardly knew anyone miles away from home. But they
were the exact places we needed to be. We thank our stars that’s where we
landed. Everyone we met made a decision which saved our boys.”
Following the loss of their son Linnie the couple have
campaigned for baby loss awareness and support with Sussex based charity
Oscar’s Wish Foundation, raising more than £16,000 supporting the new room for
bereaved parents at Royal Sussex Hospitals. https://www.oscarswishfoundation.co.uk/
Since leaving the John Radcliffe they have joined up with
local Oxford charity SSNAP to create a charity page to provide support for the
team at the John Radcliffe Neo Natal unit. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jensonandrubenforevergrateful