Bachelor alum Vienna Girardi has just suffered an incredible loss. The reality star wrote a heartbreaking Facebook post where she detailed the events leading up to her twin daughters' death.
Girardi announced in mid-June of this year that she was expecting twins. Then, in August, she posted about her gender reveal, sharing with the world that she was carrying twin girls. Her daughters were monochorionic diamniotic, meaning they share a placenta and nutrients. Girardi told Us Weekly that she had bi-weekly check ups to make sure that no twin was taking more nutrients than the other. It was during one of these appointments that doctors saw signs of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
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"This is the hardest thing I have ever had to write," Girardi began. "On Aug 3rd, I went in for an ultra sound bc the Perinatologist notice one of my twins had more fluids than the other which was the first sign of TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome) this is when one twin takes more nutrients than the other."
About 15% of all twins who share a placenta develop twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, according to TTTS Foundation. Girardi's doctors believed, at the time, that there were slight improvements.
"Unfortunately, that was not the case and that evening my water broke due to the amniotic sacs rupturing," she wrote. "I spent the next 2 days in the hospital trying everything to save them. The doctors had warned me that if I did not go into labor and deliver the babies, I was taking the chance of risking my own life and causing an infection in my uterus but they could not survive at only 18 weeks."
She said that she did everything she could to save them, but their hearts stopped beating on August 5th and she "went into a septic shock with 104 fever."
After surgery and spending 4 days in the hospital, Girardi made the decision to donate her daughters to help find better treatments for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Her selfless decision will help other mothers and their babies.
"This was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life but I knew my little girls were in Heaven already and the pain I feel I would never want any mother to ever feel," she confessed.
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Girardi thanks everyone for their kind words, but hopes everyone will respect her privacy at this time. Our hearts go out to Vienna Girardi and her loved ones while they mourn this tragedy.
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