Meet the sick sisters turned super nurses
AS premature babies, sisters Ainsley and Tiffany Ballantyne owe their lives to the quality of care they received at birth.
Both were born six weeks early, weighing only 4lb and 5lb 4oz respectively.
And so inspired were they by the devoted hospital staff as infants, more than 20 years later both sisters are working as children’s nurses.
Ainsley, 26, cares for premature babies in the neonatal unit of Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital while Tiffany, 22, works with children in the A&E unit.
Having spent a lot of time in hospital as a child, Ainsley’s memories of the support she received inspired her career choice.
She said: ‘I would watch them turn sick children into healthy ones and thought I could do this when I grew up.
‘I just want to help other babies who face huge battles.’
During her first pregnancy the sisters’ mother Elise was expecting twins. However, she suffered a complication at 11 weeks and lost one of the babies.
Weeks later she gave birth to Ainsley, who knows she is lucky to be alive.
She said: ‘My twin was lost at 11 weeks and I threatened to put in an appearance at just five months into pregnancy. I would not have survived if I did. But doctors at the Royal Alexandra Maternity Hospital in Paisley hit on the idea of tilting my mum’s bed up at the end to try to keep me in place.
‘It worked, because I held on for another two months to make it past the survival line.’
The sisters occasionally end up working on the same ward and their bond is clear. Tiffany said: ‘When I work in Ainsley’s premature baby unit people immediately spot we are sisters. ‘They say we are virtually identical.’ The sisters – of Newton Mearns, near Glasgow – were both working over the festive period.
However, they took time out to help collect presents for premature babies in conjunction with Kinder Handl children’s centres in Glasgow and Paisley.
Around 4,000 infants are born prematurely in Scotland every year,
‘We wanted to make Christmas special for babies fighting to survive,’ said Ainsley.
‘Many of the parents are miles from home and their families and the little presents mean so much to them.’