CATLIN — When Aaron and Amy Hird of Catlin learned seven weeks into their pregnancy that they would have twins, they weren’t shocked — even though there was no history of identical twins in either of their families.

Aaron, a teacher, explained why it was no surprise:

“Last year I was moved to a new sixth-grade classroom at Catlin High School. At the time, I had no idea that three other teachers before me also had twin babies while they were teaching in that very same classroom.

“It’s an unbelievable story, but it’s true.”

Those teachers who had twins born in the family were June Knoll, Kevin Johnson and Beau Fretueg.

“As you would imagine, none of the other teachers at the school want to move into that classroom next fall, so I’m just staying in there and taking my luck of the draw,” he said, laughing.

Even though Aaron had this humorous story to relate, the pregnancy was not a lighthearted experience for the first-time parents.

“We feel so blessed to actually be holding our twin girls in our arms today,” Aaron said.

At 2-months-old, Bracie and Brycie each weigh around 8 pounds and look identical. They were dressed in pink frilly dresses, and their miniature toenails were polished red.

Shocking news

Amy was pretty sick during her first trimester of pregnancy, and she gained a lot of weight. Otherwise, she felt that things were going fine — until a routine ultrasound test, at 22 weeks, gave the young couple a shock.

Their physician specialist at St. Francis hospital in Peoria broke the bad news that their babies had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) — a disease that is believed to affect about one in 1,000 pregnancies with identical twins.

Aaron and Amy were told if their babies’ condition was not treated, both girls would have a very small chance of survival.

In TTTS, the identical twins share a single placenta, which means they also share blood circulation.

In the case of the Hird babies, the blood was being transferred disproportionately from one twin to the other. As a result, one of the twins had decreased blood volume and a lower-than-normal level of amniotic fluid. The other twin had too much blood and fluid, which could have led to heart failure for that baby.

The causes of TTTS are unknown, and the condition is not suspected to be hereditary or genetic.

The Hirds were informed that there were only three hospitals in the United States where an in utero surgery, called feto-scopic laser ablation, could be performed in order to save their babies’ lives. This surgery was not available 10 years ago, and the Hird twins would have certainly died.

Amy and Aaron chose a surgeon at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and found themselves spending a week there, having tests done before the procedure.

To perform the procedure, the physician used a fetoscope to find the interconnecting blood vessels between the two babies’ sacs, and he used a laser beam to coagulate the blood in these vessels in order to block them. He also drained 3½ liters of amniotic fluid from the sac of the baby who had too much. At this point in Amy’s pregnancy, the fetuses each weighed less than 2 pounds apiece.

Amy’s surgery was successful, but she was required to follow up with 56 days of complete bed rest in the hospital.

“I was so excited after the surgery, because I finally felt both babies kicking,” Amy said, smiling. “Before then, one baby had so much fluid that I couldn’t feel the movement, and the other baby without the fluid was pressed up against my uterus and couldn’t even move around.”

The twins were delivered by Cesarean section at 32 weeks, even though Amy had planned to deliver them naturally. Bracie weighed 4 pounds, 3 ounces at birth, and Brycie weighed 4 pounds, 6 ounces.

The twins stayed in the neonatal unit in Peoria for 11 days, and at Covenant Medical Center in Urbana for another week.

“It was really scary when we were finally able to bring them home,” Aaron said.

They use a heart and respiration monitor on their twins, just for their own peace of mind.

“We had a lot of people praying for us, and that helped us get through this ordeal,” Aaron said. “All our friends, family and employers were so understanding, and everybody pitched in to help us in any way they could.”

Childhood friends

Until all of this happened, Amy and Aaron were experiencing a fairly normal life together. They had met at the Southside Church of the Nazarene in Danville while they were still children. They started dating in high school, and then went on to attend Olivet Nazarene University together.

Aaron earned his degree in elementary education and was a starter on the basketball team. Amy was a cheerleader in college, but left before she finished her degree. She then went on to earn her license in cosmetology.

The couple married in May 2005. Aaron is a sixth-grade teacher at Catlin Elementary School, where he also coaches cross-country and track. He is the varsity basketball coach for the Salt Fork Storm.

Amy works as the Catlin High School secretary and coaches the Salt Fork Storm cheerleaders.

Right now, Bracie and Brycie are acting like typical identical twins.

“They wake up to eat at the same time and spit out their pacifiers at the same time,” Amy said. “The only way we can tell them apart right now is that Brycie has more hair, but I’m sure they’ll start developing individual traits before long.”

“We learned early in our marriage that you never know where life will take you,” Aaron said. “For now, we’re happy just to have our twins safe and at home in Catlin, where we are surrounded by friends and family.”