Wild excitement was followed by sinking dread when actress Abby Earl went for her first pregnancy scan. First came the huge surprise that she was expecting twins – but within seconds, the A Place to Call Home favourite also learned that one of them had a rare, life-threatening condition.
It sounds like a television drama script – yet for Abby and her fiancé, British writer and musician Christopher Unwin, the heartbreaking news was horribly real. One of their beautiful unborn babies had a serious, potentially fatal, bowel complication.
“It was a really surreal moment when we found out,” the 31-year-old star recalls of that fateful 12-week scan. “Christopher spotted two little heads and was first to respond, before even the doctor. He was apologizing to me because he’d always wanted twins and felt he’d willed them into being. And I was laughing and crying, because it felt really special.
“But then the room went quiet and we realised something was wrong. We found out almost the exact same moment that one of the twins had complications and would need surgery straight after birth, so it was a really hard afternoon.
“We tried to keep the joy and excitement alive and we had exceptional care throughout the pregnancy, but it was a constant worry – although we couldn’t let these little creatures know that!”
This story is from the April 27, 2020 edition of New Idea.
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This story is from the April 27, 2020 edition of New Idea.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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