Braedon Upchurch
Braedon's Story:
At 14 weeks into Braedon’s mom’s pregnancy, she found out that she was having monoamniotic twins. This meant that she was having identical baby boys, however, they were both in the same amniotic sac. There was an 85% chance that both boys would die prior to birth due to the possibility of umbilical cord entanglement. At 26½ weeks into the pregnancy, an ultrasound showed that one of the twins heart had stopped beating and he had died. At 28 weeks, which is 3 months early, Braedon was born via emergency C-section as his heart had begun to slow and then stop beating. He was 2 lbs. 3 oz and 14 inches long. Upon birth, it was diagnosed that Braedon was the recipient of a condition called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), which can only happen with identical twins. Braedon was the weaker twin and required 3 blood transfusions within the first hours of his life due to extreme anemia. During the next 11 weeks, Braedon developed many complications and almost died several times due to his prematurity. Braedon is now a perfectly healthy boy. He is an honor student, athlete and very musically talented.