BROTHERS IN ARMS
FOR THE FAMILY OF THESE LITTLE CHERUBS, RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE WAS A PRECIOUS HOME AWAY FROM HOME UNTIL THEIR TWIN BABY BOYS TURNED THE CORNER AND BEAT THE ODDS
With three young sons and twins on the way, Josh and Crystal Marshman already had their plates well and truly full. But when they received the harrowing news that their unborn babies’ lives were in jeopardy, their world was thrown into upheaval.
Already mum to sons Ryan, nine, Sam, six, and Lachlan, three, Crystal Marshman was taking pregnancy with MCDA (identical) twins in her stride when she went for a routine ultrasound at 22 weeks and was told her babies had severe twin to twin transfusion syndrome, which meant they were sharing big blood vessels in the placenta.
“Theirs is what’s called a donor twin and a recipient twin,” explains Crystal. “Isaac, our donor, was giving all of his fluid and blood and nutrients to Jacob, the recipient. It’s a double-edged sword – Isaac’s giving everything away so he’s not growing and struggling to live, while Jacob is overloaded with fluid and blood, which can cause heart failure.”
The couple flew to Sydney, where they spent five long weeks – with Josh sleeping on the floor of Crystal’s hospital room – as she underwent treatment which included a surgical laser intervention to split the placenta and save the boys’ lives.
While successful, Crystal still needed constant monitoring, so she was sent to Canberra Hospital. While closer than Sydney, it was still three hours from their Wagga home, so they welcomed the opportunity to stay at Ronald Mcdonald House Canberra.
Crystal’s pregnancy progressed far longer than originally anticipated but the boys were born early at 31 weeks and one day, Jacob weighing 1590g and Isaac just 1100g. Despite having a congenital heart problem, Jacob has progressed well. “He has some vision loss but we’re working with our early intervention team to get him moving along as quickly as possible,” explains Crystal.
Isaac also continues to beat the odds, steadily overcoming issues with his undeveloped lungs and a bout of pneumonia.
“He’s crawling now,” says Crystal. “He’s on oxygen but he pulls it off every chance he gets.”
Throughout their challenging journey, Crystal and husband Josh have been exceedingly thankful for the security and sanctuary of RMH Canberra.
“It’s an incredible place,” says Crystal. “All up we spent around 110 days in hospital. For me and Josh being away from our sons, our jobs, our friends, our families… our time at Ronald Mcdonald House meant we never had to worry about having a bed or food in our bellies. All of our energy could go to other things – to Jacob, to Isaac, to worrying about the three other boys.”
Crystal has especially high praise for the House’s volunteers.
“They’re amazing, they just know what you need and give it to you.”
Crystal also credits the House with allowing her and Josh to meet the other mums and dads who are away from their families – something she says has been an incredible support.
“I honestly don’t know what we would have done without Ronald Mcdonald House,” she explains. “Besides the financial practicalities, it allowed us to meet other families who truly understood what we were going through. We shared and continue to share so much with them.”