Carnoustie twins Ayley and Chloe Hirsch beamed with joy at the weekend as their parents were married.
Ayley and Chloe and big sister Lilly were flower girls on the big day as mum Averil Fleming and dad Frazer Hirsch tied the knot at the Queen’s Hotel in Dundee.
The couple’s battle to raise funds for life-changing surgery for their disabled twins has captured the public imagination.
The three-year-olds suffer from cerebral palsy and face a life of immobility unless they travel to America to undergo highly specialised surgery.
Averil and Frazer had set themselves the target of pulling together the £80,000 needed for the surgery by the time they wed in Dundee.
Reaching the target of £80,000 was always going to be ambitious but more than £155,000 flooded in from the community.
That extraordinary effort was capped with confirmation that the youngsters will undergo an operation between January 10 and 13.
It is little wonder then that with a life-changing trip to America on the horizon, Averil and Frazer had even more reason to smile as they enjoyed their special day.
Averil told The Courier afterwards: ”The twins and Lilly did a wonderful job as flower girls and they had a great time, although they were a little tired towards the end of the day.
”Having our family and friends with us made for a very special day and it was also a very emotional occasion.”
”All the family were toasting the fact that Ayley and Chloe will be going to America in January, so there were a few tears as well.
”It was always going to be a special day but knowing our girls are going to America was just the icing on the cake.”
The couple also gave up their wedding gifts to boost the cause asking for donations which will go towards their aftercare once they return from the US.
The family will jet out on January 6 after booking their flights and getting their visas ahead of the operation that will cut damaged nerves from Ayley and Chloe’s spines.
The operation, called selective dorsal rhizotomy, has been carried out successfully in St Louis Children’s Hospital for the past 20 years.
In November, the hospital’s famed surgeon TS Park worked on another toddler, Jack McNaughton, from Almondbank. His life has been transformed.
He eliminated the pain and spasticity in Jack’s body, making him much more mobile and able to learn how to walk.
Averil was unaware of the surgery until she read of the progress of Jack in The Courier and contacted his parents Stacey and Graham.
They were invited to their home to see Jack’s remarkable recovery which made Averil’s mind up and she contacted Dr Park at St Louis.
The couple launched their fundraising campaign in February.
While Ayley and Chloe are aware they are going to America to be seen by surgeon Dr TS Park, they are still too young to understand exactly what they will be going through.
Dr Park will operate on the twins at the same time so their recovery is at the same rate.
After the operation they will be in intensive care until they have recovered enough to come out, and there will be a further three weeks of treatment before they can come home.