Aussie twins four months premature make it home in time for Christmas
Queensland twins born four months premature have made it home just in time for the "best Christmas ever".
Aaliya and Aashay have spent more than 100 day in the Mater Mothers’ Hospital Brisbane after arriving on September 11 weighing just 785g and 680g respectively.
The pair have faced an uphill battle since their arrival, with both having sepsis and Aashay also becoming "very sick" with meningitis.
Brisbane general practitioner Neha Goel, 36, and husband Ben Aggarwal, 36, said it “meant the world” to be home and finally together as a family with their big sister, three-year-old Siara.
“It will be the best Christmas ever,” she said.
Cuddling her babies together, Dr Goel said there were times she thought Aaliya and Aashay would not survive after arriving 16 weeks before their December 29 due date.
“Every time they got sick it was touch and go. It happened so many times it was scary,” Dr Goel said.
She said she had a new-found respect for parents of babies in the Mater Mothers’ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
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“It’s really opened my eyes about what goes on here. You just don’t know until you go through it yourself. We were in good hands from the moment we came to Mater."
The twins now weight more than 3kg each and are going from strength to strength, their mother says, with their return home "a Christmas wish come true" for Siara.
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Mater Acting Director of Neonatology Dr Luke Jardine said eight sets of twins would join the other tiny treasures this Christmas in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“For many families, this will be their first Christmas in hospital with their baby due to being premature or unwell,” Dr Jardine said.
“It can be an emotional and challenging time, along with a sense of hope their baby is being cared for in hospital.”
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