Most siblings share a special bond. This holds especially true for twins, like brothers Chester and Otis Graves. You see, these brothers were born prematurely, with little Otis weighing only 3 pounds 7 ounces. However, Chester’s tiny life was in peril as he only weighed 1 pound 10 ounces! After staying in the hospital for six weeks, Otis put on considerable weight and was 6 pounds 3 ounces when he was discharged. As for Chester, the tiny infant had also gained a bit of weight, weighing in at 3 pounds six ounces now. Despite their baby’s precarious situation, Kelly and Billy Graves believe Chester’s survival ultimately came down to the powerful bond he shares with Otis.
The family had gone through a roller coaster of emotions during the weeks before the birth of the twins. As she was undergoing a 16-week scan, doctors informed Kelly about Chester’s serious health conditions. They told her that her twins were not the same size, and one was 25 percent bigger. This was something her doctors were really concerned about, reports the Mirror. The huge difference in size between the siblings was due to a condition known as Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction.
According to Hopkins Medicine, sIUGR is a condition that happens in relatively few twin pregnancies, known as monochorionic. This means that the twins share one placenta (afterbirth) along with a network of blood vessels.
However, since Chester wasn’t receiving the needed nutrients from the placenta, his growth was negatively impacted.
And doctors had to do something before it was too late.
So, when she was at 19 weeks, the 32-year-old mom was taken to Kings College Hospital in London, where she underwent a laser surgical operation.
But, there was still more danger.
After the c-section, Otis was immediately put on a ventilator, while doctors managed to stabilize Chester after he’d become incredibly lethargic after birth.
The family was so relieved.
Kelly, who also has three other children, Albert, 8, Florence, 8, and Phoebe, 10, continued:
You can watch footage of little Chester and his brother Otis in the video below.
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