Miracle twins born red raw 15 WEEKS premature go home fit and healthy after being treated in six different hospitals

Twin boys who were born with a combined weight of less than three-and-a-half pounds have defied the odds to survive thanks to modern medicine.
George and Harrison Kent were 15 weeks premature, suffered numerous health problems including twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, and were treated in six different hospitals.
Doctors feared they would not survive, but five months after their birth the pair have gone home to Bocking in Essex weighing a healthy 7lb 11oz and 7lb 14oz. 

Double trouble: Stuart and Melanie Kent with their twins Harrison (left) and George. The twins were born 15 weeks early

Their mother Melanie, 25, said: 'They are my little miracles. They will be strong little fighters.'
Nursery nurse Melanie, and her husband Stuart, 26, who is a British Gas engineer, discovered they were expecting identical twins in August.
But at 16 weeks, doctors said they were suffering twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, with Harrison taking too much blood from George which could have stopped his brother growing. 

 

Melanie underwent laser treatment to drain four litres of excess amniotic fluid from around George.
Without the treatment, she could have lost both boys but the procedure induced an early labour.
Mrs Kent gave birth naturally three days later on December 11 at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. George weighed 1lb 9oz while Harrison was 1lb 12oz.
The twins were whisked to different hospitals - George to Chertsey and Harrison to Luton and Dunstable - while Melanie remained at Broomfield with an infection.
She saw her babies two days later and months of travelling miles between hospitals followed. 

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George Kent (left) and Harrison (right) hours after birth at Broomfield Hospital. They were whisked away to two separate hospitals for treatment. Both weighed less than 2lbs

My, how they've grown: George (top) and Harrison (bottom) and George now both nearly weigh 8lbs

George, who was moved to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital a few days after his birth, had a tear in his small bowel but managed to recover.
Harrison - who was moved to the same hospital earlier this year had a gastrointestinal disease affecting the bowel which resulted in him three quarters of his bowel being removed.
He also needed a stent fitted to close a duct on his heart at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Doctors feared the worst when he was struck down with group B streptococcus in March, yet again he managed to revive.
Mrs Kent said: 'His body was in complete shutdown but 24 hours later he was like a completely different baby.' 

Feisty family: Melanie said her twins Harrison (left) and George both had tempers

Both twins also needed laser eye treatment at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, to save their central sight but have lost some of their periphery sight.
They have now been allowed home to Bocking, with George now weighing 7lb 11oz and his brother 7lb 14oz.
Melanie said: 'George has always been quite laid back and he loves the attention.
'Harrison, when he was younger, absolutely couldn’t stand anyone touching him. He used to fidget but now he always wants to be held.
'I don’t know if it’s because they are redheads, but they got a bit of a temper. They beat each other up.'