On April 17, 2018, my family and I got a large group text from my aunt and uncle. They were pregnant... with twins. We were so excited!

It was a rough pregnancy for my aunt. She had to go into the hospital almost every week for ultrasounds instead of the normal three to four weeks. At one point during one of the ultrasounds, the doctors realized that one of the twins was growing much faster, while the smaller of the twins was not doing well. They didn’t know what to do. When my family was told this news by my aunt and uncle, we didn’t know what to think. Should we be worried?

After a few more trips to the doctor’s office, my aunt and uncle were told that the babies were identical girls. My aunt and uncle decided to name the girls Reagan and Amelia. Reagan was the smaller of the two. During the next few ultrasounds, the doctors realized that one of Reagan’s kidneys was failing to grow while Amelia’s were doing completely fine. The ultrasound operators said that there was a 50/50 chance of the Reagan making it. They also said that if she did make it, she would need surgery right after she was born. They told my aunt to hope for the best but to prepare for the worst. Hearing this news terrified my aunt, uncle, and the rest of my family.

The next few months showed no improvement. During this time it reminded me of my mom. After I was born, my mom was diagnosed with lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that attacks the organs and tissues in your body. She was told that she would most likely not be able to have any more children and if she did, the pregnancy would be very high-risk. Lupus can attack a fetus if it doesn’t have the same blood type as the mother, which can cause her to miscarry. My mom happens to have a rare blood type. This really scared her when she became pregnant with my little sister. Once she became pregnant, she was also told that there was a 50/50 chance of my sister living.

As things progressed with my aunt’s pregnancy, we were still worried that Reagan wasn’t going to make it. The doctors had no idea what to do. My entire family prayed and prayed as we hoped for the best.

Thankfully, on September 30th, 2018, my aunt gave birth to two beautiful, healthy, baby girls. Reagan was born with one kidney and Amelia had two, but they were both as healthy as could be compared to the months preceding. They stayed in the hospital for 3 weeks after being born just to have some extra check-ups to make sure everything was normal. Now they are the most smiley and lively babies I know. They are almost eight months old, and they don’t have any health issues.

When I think of my aunt's whole pregnancy, I go back to my mom’s experience because she had a very rough time, but it worked out in the end. My sister ended up having the same blood type as my mom, and she is now 11-years-old and my mom is healthy. These two experiences just prove to me that I shouldn’t base my life off of percentages because even if the odds aren’t in our favor, it can all work out just fine in the end.