A large family was something Jenny and Rich Powell, a British couple, wished for, but they struggled for 11 years to conceive. After deciding to use IVF, Jenny became pregnant with twins. It was the realization of a dream for them.
But because they expected to deliver the babies earlier than expected, the couple started preparing the nursery in advance. When Jenny started feeling ill while on vacation in Cornwall, she was six months along.
The nearest clinic’s medical staff urged them to go directly to an Oxford facility, so her husband drove her there.
The local authorities organized for Jenny to be flown to the doctors by a Coast Guard helicopter despite the frightening distance, and the next day she delivered birth.
The twins, Ruben and Jenson, weighed just 1.3 pounds each when they were born at just 23 weeks of pregnancy.
The babies stayed at the clinic for six months before being released home, which was an unusual and challenging situation in British history. But they gradually expanded and changed.
The entire family was delighted to commemorate this occasion. By the time Ruben and Jenson were one, their growth had caught up to that of their peers.
Together with the Oxford clinic staff and the Coast Guard helicopter crew, who had both been essential to their journey, they celebrated their first birthday.
It is hard to recall when the twins were so little because they are now two years old.
We extend the lovely Powell family our very best wishes for their continued happiness, good health, and long lives.
