17 April 2024

Ben, a keen endurance athlete, CrossFitter and father to identical 6-year-old twin girls Isla and Jemima as well as 1-year-old George is taking on the London Marathon for Twins Trust.

This isn’t his first challenge for Twins Trust, a charity that is close to his family’s heart.  

When Ben and his wife Tabitha found out they were expecting identical twins, Ben, a Critical Care Paramedic was aware that they would need extra monitoring. At this time, Twins Trust (formerly TAMBA) were championing the updating of the NICE Guidelines.

It was raising awareness of these guidelines after a scan at 16 weeks for their twins was missed that led Ben to taking on Ride London for Twins Trust. 

Twins Trust’s Maternity Engagement Programme shows that if units follow clinical guidance on the care of multiples, which includes ensuring the crucial 16-week scan takes place, that babies’ lives can be saved and there would be fewer neo-natal admissions.

At 17 weeks + 5 days, their twins were diagnosed with Twin-to-Twin-Transfusion Syndrome, a rare but life-threatening disease.

“We were told there was 50% chance of losing them both and an 75% chance that only one of the girls would survive. We were devastated.”

At 18 weeks’ gestation, Tabitha underwent laser ablation surgery to save their twin girls at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. Despite the delay reducing the odds for both twins and an agonising 72-hour wait, the surgery was successful. 

However, at 29 weeks + 2 days Tabitha suffered a placental abruption, going into premature labour and needing an emergency c-section. The girls needed to be resuscitated and both were born septic and spent six weeks in neonatal care.

Ben said: “I am undertaking the London Marathon for Twins Trust because I want to raise awareness of the vital clinical work they do.”

“When we were expecting the girls, changes were being made to the NICE guidance with Twins Trust contributing to this with their research.”

“Because we were aware of these guidelines, we were able to push back when we believed we weren’t getting the care we needed.”

“I believe this changed the outcome of our pregnancy – if we hadn’t pushed for a second opinion sooner, the laser surgery may have been too late.”

Looking forward to taking part in the London Marathon, Ben’s wife, three children, family and friends will all be there to cheer him on along the way. 

Speaking about the day, Ben said: “I’m looking forward to atmosphere and the personal challenge.”

“I want to inspire my children – to be involved in physical fitness, to throw themselves in to challenges and to give back to others.” 

“The girls are aware of the journey we had bringing them into the world and know that everyone isn’t as fortunate as us.”

“Sadly, friends have lost both of their twins to TTTS. We know more needs to be done to change the odds of this disease”. 

If you’d like to sponsor Ben, click here.