Orla and Frankie were born prematurely and had a combined weight of less than 3lbs but the pair have defied the odds to be discharged home.
Orla and Frankie were born prematurely and had a combined weight of less than 3lbs but the pair have defied the odds to be discharged home.
- after one was born with hands the size of her dad's fingernail. Amy Sharkey, 32, gave birth to her daughter Orla at 23 weeks and two days weighing 1lb 1oz and her son Frankie was born four days later - weighing 1lb and 5oz. The mum and her partner Jack Ginn, 33, were told the chances for survival are usually below 10 per cent.
Frankie spent 161 days inOrla spent a further 61 days battling before the whole family came home in April this year. The couple say the twins are now "doing amazing", despite still dealing with multiple, added: "She was the size of my hand. She was basically the size of a mango with small arms and legs. I would say she was tiny.
Her hands were the size of my fingernail.
"Frankie didn't seem much bigger. Still the size of my hand. I would say pictures don't do the size justice.
"Frankie is just a sweet little mummy's boy, loves a chat and a cuddle. Even before their due date we could see their little personalities.
"Amy's pregnancy was totally "normal" until her 20 week scan and the couple said there were no signs of anything to worry about. However, Amy, who shared her story with Sell Us Your Story, said she was already two centimetres dilated on August 19 2025, four and a half months before her babies were due.
She was another centimetre dilated the following day and admitted to hospital on August 20 where she had a cervical stitch put in to close it. Jack said: "We believe the stitch bought us the extra days we needed. Without the stitch, I don't think they would be here.
" After spending a few days at home, fluid began to leak from Orla's amniotic sac and Amy, a caterer, was admitted to theand the following day, Orla was born at 23 weeks and two days - weighing the same as a small bag of sugar. After Orla's birth, Amy's cervix closed but Frankie still needed to come out and he was beginning to contract an infection from Orla's placenta.
"They had to give me a hormone drip to restart the labour, basically to hurry up and get Frankie out, because obviously it's not a good place for him to be inside while there's a bad infection going on," Amy said. The twins were both rushed to the neonatal unit and when Orla was 10 days old she contracted a bowel infection called Necrotising Enterocolitis , that in turn caused three bowel perforations.
She had three surgeries including a full laparotomy - open abdominal surgery - the first when she was just 10 days old, the second at 17 days and the third on Feb 26 at around five and a half months.
"They put a drain site in and we just hope for the best and we were asked three times if we wanted to stop any care and turn to palliative care. Surgeons were able to reverse Orla's stoma and reconnect her bowel in February 2026 but she still does not have a colon, which was removed during surgery.
Frankie has chronic lung disease, pulmonary hypertension in his heart and recently had laser eye surgery for Retinopathy of Prematurity , a common eye condition which affects premature babies. Orla also has ROP but hers is less severe than her brother's.
Frankie was discharged on February 19, 161 days after he was born and the family lived in a charity house inside theAmy said she thinks Orla's health issues "will last through her life" but is hoping that Frankie will soon be able to come off the oxygen tube and breathe independently. The couple said they "couldn't have done the journey" without the nurses and doctors from the Simpsons Special Care Babies Unit and the Ronald MacDonald charity.
Jack said: "Without them we couldn't have done the journey and the babies wouldn't be here without them either because they certainly don't do their job for the money, from what we've seen with Frankie and Orla.
"They were just so dedicated to their care and to us as well, because we didn't have much support. It was me and Amy in the hospital for all that time with not many visitors.
"We just lived and breathed the hospital. Weeks would go by without even fresh air because you were just by their side.
" The couple said that it felt like a miracle that the twins are alive, with Jack adding that Orla "proved everybody wrong, every hurdle, she never let up".
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