Christopher and Colin Singer, RNICU patients

For weeks, they were referred to Baby A and Baby B. Today, they go by Christopher and Colin Singer. In 2007, the twins defied the odds and survived Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome – a pregnancy complication that could have taken their lives before they even began - thanks in a large part to the neonatal specialists at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center.

Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) occurs when identical twins share the same blood supply. The condition places a severe strain on one baby’s heart while decreasing blood flow to the other. The effects of TTTS can be catastrophic to one or both twins suffering from the condition.

Severe back pain in her 25th week of pregnancy brought Dawn Singer to the emergency room of a local hospital where TTTS was quickly diagnosed. At that time, Dawn and husband Keith were told that Baby B was in congestive heart failure and would most likely not survive, and that the health of Baby A was in question as well. Dawn was rushed to Westchester Medical Center where an emergency cesarean section was performed in the hopes of saving Baby B.

Baby A, Christopher James, was born at a scant 1 pound, 4 ounces. Baby B, Colin Anthony, weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces. The brothers would spend as much as 17 weeks in the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, where the region’s smallest and most critically ill newborns are cared.

Christopher and Colin faced many hurdles in their struggle to survive and with the help of the expert clinical staff at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, they cleared them all. Dawn and Keith say the staff at the hospital cared for Christopher and Colin like they were their own.

Today, the twins are happy and healthy at home in Campbell Hall, New York. Both are meeting their growth milestones and after spending 17 weeks in the hospital, are expected to run their mom and dad ragged for the next 17 years.

Learn more about the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.