Birthday milestone for Shropshire 'miracle twins'

Miracle Shropshire twins born weighing just over a pound each and given no chance of survival will celebrate the first birthday their parents never thought they would see later this month.

Ellis and Ianto Evans were born 16 weeks premature at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital last December and parents Rachel and Scott Evans were warned that both were likely to die.

But 12 months on, the family is preparing to hold the first birthday party they never thought they would get when the children reach one on December 29.

The twins, who both had open-heart surgery at just five weeks old, will spend their birthday at home in Hadley, Telford, with their parents - who moved into a temporary camper van at Percy Thrower's Garden Centre in Shrewsbury to be closer to the babies in their testing first five months.

Ellis, born at 1lb 1oz, and Ianto, a Welsh name for John, born 1lb 4oz, are now both living at the family home.

Mum Rachel, who had suffered three miscarriages before the twins were born, said she was overjoyed that they were both doing so well after their traumatic entry into the world.

"I was told to expect the worst when I was in labour," she said.

"We were given no chance of both of them surviving. I was going for a natural birth but then at the last minute I needed to go for an emergency C-section.

"I was under anaesthetic so I was asleep and still coming round when they were rushed straight into the neo-natal ward.

"They were both born breathing but within three minutes I think Ellis had stopped breathing. I didn't know to start with if they had made it."

Both children came through the birth but the drama for the family didn't end there.

With the twins remaining in hospital, the couple repeatedly faced agonising journeys to Shrewsbury from their Hadley home.

And so the couple moved into a camper van in Oteley Road to be closer to their children.

Mrs Evans added: "We had a phone call at 2am saying that Ellis was dying and that we should get to the hospital. After that we couldn't keep going to and from Telford so we went to Percy Thrower's Garden Centre and they let us have a camper van.

"We ended up living in the car park at the garden centre for four months, just to be that one step nearer to the hospital.

"At five weeks they both had open heart surgery at Birmingham Children's Hospital. Ellis spent five months in Shrewsbury hospital and Ianto was there for four before we could bring them home."

Mrs Evans, who will be celebrating her 23rd birthday on New Year's Eve, added that the pair, her first children, were making good progress.

"They're both doing fine now," she said.

"They are still very small and do need regular check-ups. At the moment we need to take them in for injections against bronchiolitis because their lungs are so under-developed. If they catch something like the common cold it can be really bad for them.

"We're going to have a small celebration on the day with family members as they are both still small."

And Mrs Evans also paid tribute to the staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for their efforts.

She said: "The staff at Shrewsbury hospital have been absolutely fantastic and they have done all they can for us. We were obviously there quite a lot and have got to know the staff really well.

"We go back there about once a week now for different things and just to say hello. It's like a second home now.

"We just want to say a huge thank-you to staff. They took such great care of the boys when they were in hospital."

By Alex James