Sarah and Bill Thistlethwaite of Ohio thought they might not be able to have a family, but after the birth of their son, they were overjoyed to discover they were expecting twin girls.
There was one small problem. The twin girls had a rare condition. They were “Momo” twins or monoamniotic twins. 1 in 10,000 sets of twins is a monoamniotic set. This medical term means the identical twins share a placenta and an amniotic sack, making gestation high risk.
Sarah spent a fifth of her pregnancy, 57 days, on bedrest to ensure her daughters had the best chance at life. At 33 weeks, Dr. Melissa Mancuso began the scheduled C-section to deliver the babies.
The sounds of a busy surgical suite grew eerily quiet when the doctor pulled the girls from the womb.
Dr. Mancuso gasped at the rare sight before her. The girls were holding hands.
“My heart melted,” Sarah confessed to People Magazine. Childbirth is often called a miracle, and those present in the delivery room that day sensed how special this event was.
“Even my husband got tears in his eyes – I don t know that anybody in the room had a dry eye,” Sarah continued.
This rare pregnancy ended with an even more precious moment of genuine affection and comradery. The two girls are still close. The twins are typical kids: Jillian is more precocious while Jenna is more reserved. These identical twin girls are changing as they grow, but one thing remains. They still love to hold hands.
