At a Glance
- Sarah Wood lost one twin to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome at 17 weeks pregnant.
- Surviving twin Norah spent 100 days in the NICU after birth at 27 weeks.
- Discharge came on Thanksgiving 2024 as parents cooked dinner for hospital staff.
- Why it matters: Story shows medical crisis, family grief, and a garden-grown path to healing.
A California mother is sharing how she endured the loss of one twin daughter and celebrated the survival of the other, culminating in a Thanksgiving discharge from the NICU after 100 days of care.
Rare Diagnosis at 17 Weeks
Sarah Wood, 35, and husband Jason, 38, of Bakersfield, conceived through in-vitro fertilization. When the embryo split, they learned they were expecting twins. At an ultrasound about 17 weeks into the pregnancy, doctors diagnosed twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition where one twin receives excess nutrients while the other is deprived.
Sarah’s case had progressed to stage 2, the usual threshold for prenatal surgery. Local specialists were unavailable for a week because many were out of the country for a convention. Once a surgeon was located, the couple drove more than two hours to Los Angeles for an emergency procedure.
By then the disease had advanced to stage 4. Recipient twin Iris was going into heart failure, while donor twin Norah was extremely small and surrounded by almost no amniotic fluid. Both babies survived the surgery, and Sarah was sent home, returning twice weekly for monitoring.
Loss and Emergency Delivery
Four weeks later, Sarah felt unwell and went to the hospital. Within the previous 24 hours, Iris had died. “I started screaming,” Sarah tells News Of Los Angeles. “I wasn’t prepared for that.”
Doctors discharged Sarah after three weeks and ordered bedrest. One week later, at 27 weeks gestation, she went into labor and began hemorrhaging. Two days afterward physicians performed an emergency cesarean on August 20, 2024.
Norah arrived weighing 1 lb., 7 oz. She earned a “super high” Apgar score, prompting relief among the care team at Lauren Small Children’s Center at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital.
100 Days in the NICU
Norah moved to the neonatal intensive care unit, where she spent the next 100 days. She weathered repeated “Brady episodes,” sudden drops in heart rate and oxygen, yet continued to gain strength.
On Thanksgiving morning, while Sarah and Jason prepared a holiday meal for the NICU staff, nurses informed them Norah could go home. “I thought, ‘Are you joking? What?'” Sarah recalls. They finished cooking, completed discharge paperwork, and “literally traded Thanksgiving dinner for our daughter.”
Life After Discharge
More than a year later, Norah is thriving. She delighted in her second Christmas, visiting Santa, baking cookies, and touring zoo lights. Sarah describes her as happy, full of hair, and eager to move: “She’s all over the place, not quite yet walking, but she wants to be.”
To honor Iris, the family planted an iris flower garden in their backyard. “The garden is definitely the most helpful and the thing that has really stuck for me,” Sarah says, calling the project therapeutic.
Gratitude for Care Teams
Sarah praises the doctors and nurses who cared for Norah and supported the family. “I’m so grateful to all healthcare workers who can be personable,” she says. “I was fortunate to have all great people, with all great bedside manner, that felt like friends and family.”
Key Takeaways
- TTTS required emergency fetal surgery at stage 4, but one twin could not be saved.
- Norah’s 100-day NICU stay ended on Thanksgiving, aligning with a family-hosted meal for staff.
- An iris garden now links memory to daily life, aiding the family’s healing process.
