What are the Chances?
Statistics from 2015 and released in 2017 state there were 133,155 babies born in twin deliveries in that year in the United States. Thatโs a rate of 33.5 twins per every 1,000 live births, or just over 3% of all live births are twin births.
So it can be said that these types of births arenโt exactly common.
Hereโs a scenario that makes a unique experience even more unique.
A Very, Very Special Day
This Wednesday, September 25th, 2019 was probably just another day for the Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center maternity wing in Athens, Georgia. For expecting parents, Brannan and Rebecca Williams, it will probably remain the biggest day of their lives.
Brannan says that,
โThe first ultrasound gave us the surprising, great news.โ
When asked how they will parent two at once, Rebecca replies,
โWeโll need adviceโฆโ
Little did they know what was about to happen.
Another Set of Twins Arrives First
Three minutes before the birth by cesarean section was scheduled to begin, another set of twins arrived. No, I donโt mean some other twins were born ahead of them.
Although these twins were born at the same hospital, their date of birth was 26 years ago.
As they were prepping for the delivery, one of Rebecca Williamsโ nurses says,
โGuess what? I have something to tell you. Iโm a twin and my sister works in the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit], and weโre both going to be at your delivery!โ
Brennan was particularly happy to hear this news.
โI was really nervous about the walk into the C-section room,โ he said. โAnd then learning that, I was like, oh, thatโs pretty cool! It kind of relaxed me a little bit.โ
The Start of Something Beautiful
Tara Drinkard was the nurse who gave Rebecca Williams this thrilling news. Itโs only recently that she transferred from working in the emergency room to the labor and delivery unit. Her identical twin sister, Tori, is the one who works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Itโs hospital policy that when babies are delivered who need to go to the NICUโand since multiple birth babies are often underweight, this is typically the caseโa nurse from each team is usually present for the birth. Another rule is that there must be one nurse per baby.
Tara and Tori have never worked side by side in the delivery room.
Who could have imaged that the first time they did, they would come together under such special circumstances? It was just about an hour before the delivery that they learned they would finally have the chance.
Mom and Dad are Thrilled
It wasnโt until sometime after the birth that mom and dad realized what they had. An opportunity to get advice from a pair of twins who had been there, done that. Grown up as identical twin sisters.
Both parents realized that while something truly special happened that day, they had something a far more value going forward. And they are taking advantage of getting to know Tara and Tori, looking for insights on how to raise their daughters.
Brennan concludes that,
โ[Tara and Tori] have become our friends.โ He adds, โI look forward to letting the girls know about this one day, and hopefully theyโll get to meet them and keep carrying this thing on.โ
Addison and Emma are now home with mom and dad.
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