When mom Rebecca Roberts became pregnant after taking fertility medications, she was closely monitored. Doctors saw exactly what they were looking for: one healthy baby. But when Roberts, who lives in the UK, went back for a second ultrasound at 12 weeks, she and her medical team were shocked to discover that she was actually carrying twins.
That wasn’t all though — the babies were so significantly apart developmentally that doctors agreed that they had been conceived at different times.
“It was really, really shocking to be told there were two babies instead of one,” said Roberts, 39. “Then they told me there was a three-week size difference between the two babies that the doctors couldn’t understand.”
It turns out that Roberts had become pregnant again while she was already pregnant with one of the twins, boy Noah. This is known as superfetation — a rare phenomenon where an embryo is conceived and successfully implants when another fetus is already growing. In Roberts’ case the second embryo would grow into her daughter, Rosalie.
Roberts was thrilled, but when doctors told her that Rosalie might face health complications, there was a cloud hanging over her pregnancy.
“It wasn’t all happy and rainbows like you expect a pregnancy to be. It was quite scary,” she said.
When Roberts’ pregnancy was 33 weeks along, Rosalie stopped growing and doctors decided to induce. Noah weighed a respectable 4 pounds 10 ounces, but tiny Rosalie weighed just 2 pounds 7 ounces. Noah was in the NICU for three weeks, but Rosalie spent three months in the hospital.
Now, the babies are about 6 months old and doing well.
“They’re my super twins. Every day I look at them and think, ‘Wow, I’m so lucky,’” Roberts said. “Twins have an amazing bond anyways but the story between these two, when they’re old enough to find out, they’ll feel even more special.”
The Look On This 98-Year-Old Mom’s Face When She Sees Her Son
I challenge you to look at this picture and not get teary-eyed. Yoshia Uomoto, 98, had been separated from her son Mark, 68, due to visitation restrictions at the assisted living facility where she resides. But after getting vaccinated the family was finally able to reunite, and the look on Yoshia’s face is absolutely everything.
Mark told Today that for the past year he has relied on video chats or “window visits,” like millions of families around the country. Neither worked particularly well, however, because Yoshia is hard of hearing.
Once the family was finally able to be together, the love of a mother overwhelmed everyone in the room. Even though he’s old enough to be a grandfather himself, Mark relished in his mother’s affection.
“It was so wonderful to see her expression and joy and it was wonderful for me to be with mom,” Mark said. “So that will be with me forever, that moment there.”
The Mom Advocating For Her Son After Living A Nightmare
Michigan mom of six Lisa Pfaff lived a parent’s nightmare seven years ago after discovering her son, Derek, alive but terribly wounded after a suicide attempt. Derek, then 19, was a college freshman home on winter break, and Pfaff had no idea that he was struggling with his mental health.
Amazingly, Derek left the hospital just three months after the incident. However, his face was nearly completely destroyed, and Derak needed to rely on a feeding tube for nourishment and a tracheostomy to breath.
“He walked out of the hospital with his head held tall and high less than three months later,” Pfaff said. “The head rehabilitation person said to us, ‘He’s years ahead of where he should be. It’s absolutely miracle he’s able to do this.'”
Now, Pfaff is sharing her story on GoFundMe, in an effort to pay for a face transplant for Derek. The surgery isn’t just cosmetic, she explains — it would also help Derek breath and eat on his own for the first time since his accident. Despite a doctor’s recommendation that Derek get the transplant, the Pfaff’s insurance denied the claim, saying that the procedure was “experimental.”
Pfaff has raised more than $130,000 for the surgery, but has a goal of raising $1 million to support the surgery and medical expenses including anti-rejection drugs for Derek.
“As a mother, you want to fix it for your children, and there’s nothing that I can do right now besides love and support him,” Pfaff told PEOPLE.
She hopes that with support, Derek can get the care he needs, and also help prevent others from experiencing what he has gone through.
“We all make mistakes, and through all of this I understand what unconditional love truly is. We’ve been a team, and I’ve never left his side on this journey through recovery,” she wrote. “Please help us give Derek a second chance at life — a life where he wants to help others with mental illness by sharing his story.”
