Weighing less than half a kilogram (458grams) when they were born at just 24 weeks, there are no signs Lily and Ivy Huthchinson’s start to life wasn’t all sweet.
The 18-month-olds, now more than 20 times their birth weight, are cheeky, independent and most importantly healthy, keeping mum Jenna on her toes.
“They’re doing really well,” said Ms Hutchinson.
“They’re very busy, always into something - it can be chaos but it’s happy chaos.”
Ms Hutchison says she owes her girls’ lives to the expertise of Mater Mothers’ Hospital and she is asking Queenslanders to get behind Mater today (June 25) in support of its annual Giving Day, which supports life-changing research, equipment and services across its Queensland hospitals.
Diagnosed with a rare condition called Twin to Twin Syndrome (TTTS) while still in the womb, it was touch and go for the pint-sized pair.
“It was flagged at 16 weeks, and it went downhill quickly from that point,” said Ms Hutchinson.
“We buried our heads in the sand a little bit, but it was very stressful.
“I was being monitored twice a week and every time I went back it was getting worse and worse.”
TTTS affects identical twins sharing a placenta. Blood is unequally distributed between the pair, meaning one twin receives too much blood and the other very little, which can be fatal.
“By 22 weeks I was in agony, so they attempted surgery to separate the shared blood and give the girls the best chance of survival,” said Ms Hutchinson.
“But it didn’t work. The cords were so entangled that it was too dangerous to separate them.
“We decided because the girls came into the world together they would stay together.
“I went into hospital with cramps at 24 weeks, which I thought were the result of the surgery, but I went into labour.
“It was panic stations and I was rushed into an emergency c-section – the staff were amazing.
“Both of the babies cried and the whole room was shocked. It’s extremely rare when born that little to not need to be resuscitated.”
The girls spent more than 100 days in Mater Mother’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit before they were able to go home.
“Ivy was really unwell straight after birth, she was very frail and it was touch and go for a while,” said Ms Hutchinson.
“Lily got really unwell halfway through when she contracted a virus and had to be resuscitated.
“She ended up staying 127 days, 3 weeks longer than Ivy.
“Bringing Ivy home was bittersweet – it was amazing we could take her home but was tough leaving Lily behind.
“Although it was challenging, we loved our time in the NICU and we made lots of friends.
“The team are angels – they went above and beyond for me and the girls.
“They don’t just save babies’ lives – they save the mother too.
The community is being asked to dig deep for Mater’s Giving Day, helping deliver life-saving healthcare to the Queensland community.
Mater Foundation Chief Executive Andrew Thomas said donations play a huge part in continuing exceptional patient care and supporting new research.
“Giving Day is about coming together as a community and expressing gratitude for the dedication and incredible achievements at Mater,” said Mr Thomas.
“It’s a time to acknowledge those who give their all to help others every day.
“Providing the community the opportunity to give back and contribute to the ongoing care of patients.
“Amazingly every single dollar raised by the community will be tripled by our generous Matched Givers – this will have an enormous impact on many lives.”
The Mater Foundation is hoping to top last year’s fundraising efforts, aiming to raise $2million in 2026.
Support Mater Giving Day at mater.org.au/givingday.
