A devastated family who lost their twin boys to a rare condition are fundraising in their memory with help from the Angus community where their dad grew up.
Craig Fyfe, from Arbroath, and his wife Melanie could only listen in horror as doctors broke the news in February that one of their twin sons had passed away, before the other also died in the womb as their mum fought for her own life.
The boys died as a result of an issue related to TTTS (twin to twin transfusion syndrome), a deadly condition which can affect identical twins.
Craig also faced the heartbreaking decision of whether to terminate the life of the second baby as his wife battled potentially fatal infection.
The couple, who now live in Stevenage, are fundraising for Tamba’s TTTS Registry while Craig’s mother, Elspeth Fyfe, is holding a local event in Arbroath.
Craig, Melanie and a group of close relatives and friends will be taking part in a London 10K challenge at the end of this month, while on Saturday May 27 Arbroath’s popular Tutties pub will be staging a raffle organised by Elspeth which includes a signed Paul Gascoigne shirt, signed and framed Arbroath FC shirt, a two-night stay at Quayside Marina and various other prizes and vouchers.
Craig, 37, a former Muirfield primary and Arbroath High School pupil, said: “We needed to do something, to throw ourselves into something and give ourselves a break from the pain that we’ve had through all this.
The boys passed away on February 27 so although the family’s pain is still incredibly raw they say fundraising for Tamba’s registry and focusing on their 10k training is giving them something positive to focus on.
The couple, who married in October 2016, already had a son William, now three, and were over the moon when they found out they were having twins.
Melanie, 35, said: “It was about 13 weeks when I had the scan. I’d been having extreme tiredness which I didn’t have with William, but it was still a major shock — but a happy shock — when they said there were two.”
“We had another scan at Lister Hospital in Stevenage and that’s when they said they had TTTS,” said Melanie.
“My best friend Jodie had it and lost one of her twins, so I knew it was a serious problem.”
TTTS occurs in identical twin babies who share a placenta. An imbalance occurs which means one twin receives too much blood, while the other receives too little.
Melanie underwent laser surgery at University College Hospital in London and although doctors were happy with her follow-up progress, tragedy struck when she was hit by infection and the couple received the heartbreaking news that one of the boys had died.
Craig added: “The doctors then said Mel’s body was trying to fight an infection. If they didn’t do anything the infection could spread and we could lose Mel as well.
“They asked me if they could begin the process of terminating the other baby so Mel’s body, and the medical staff, could focus on fighting the infection.
“I was choosing between our baby and my wife.”
But a few hours later medics delivered the crushing news that the second twin had also died.
“It all happened in a blur but the decision had now been taken away from me,” said Craig.
Melanie said: “When we lost the first baby, it was just awful. When we lost the second one, it was devastating.”
Craig added: “William doesn’t understand why they have gone away. He had made things for them at nursery and he sometimes still asks why they aren’t here.
The Fyfe family and friends have raised more than £2,000 for the charity’s TTTS Registry, which collects data to help doctors improve treatments and will hopefully see more babies survive the condition in future.
Anyone wishing to donate to Melanie and Craig’s fundraising page can visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/FyfeTwins
Anyone wishing to donate a raffle prize, or buy tickets for £1 each, can call Elspeth on 07971 441030 or Carol Shand at Tutties on 01241 873627.
