ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Real Life

Brave Bella - saved by her twin!

The power of a brother's love - by that's life!
  • 08 Apr 2021

Little Bella's twin brother snuggled her back to life.

Here, mum Simone Pignataro, 42, tells the story in her own words...

Brave Bella - saved by her twin!

Aren’t they cute?’ I smiled to my husband, Greg, as our newborn twins, Jackson and Bella, snuggled up together.

Delivered at 34 weeks, they each weighed just over two kilos and could fit in each of Greg’s hands.

At four days old, we were able to take them home.

Now, despite having their own bassinets, they were happiest side by side.

But while Jackson thrived, Bella didn’t. Her head was elongated and always turned to the left.

Her eyes began bulging, too, and she always cried.

‘It’s probably because she was head down in your womb,’ the paediatrician said, advising me to buy a special pillow to keep her head straight.

So I did, but she cried even more. At four weeks, the twins were examined as part of a study for medical postgraduates.

‘I’m concerned about Bella,’ one said. ‘I think she has sagittal synostosis.’

The condition, which can develop in the womb, causes the hole in a baby’s head to close prematurely.

It could explain her head shape and bulging eyes.

It also meant her brain couldn’t grow properly.

‘That’s why she’s always crying – she’s in constant pain!’ I said.

Specialists at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW, confirmed the diagnosis, treating her with pain medication and physiotherapy for her neck.

We were told Bella needed surgery to expand her skull, or we risked her having blindness and brain damage.

With our baby girl being so small, she had to wait until she was six months old for the op.

Bella and Jackson

As the weeks passed, Jackson met all his milestones, while Bella deteriorated. Her forehead protruded and her eyes bulged further as her growing brain pushed against them.

When the day finally arrived three months later, we were even more worried.

Bella would be the first baby in Australia to have a spring-assisted cranioplasty, which used springs to expand her skull.

The bones would be separated and tiny springs used to push them apart. It was a risky procedure, but doctors assured us it would give Bella the best chance.

Leaving Jackson with my aunt, Jeneen, at the Ronald McDonald House where we were staying, Greg and I carried Bella to the operating theatre at the hospital. It was the longest walk I’d ever done.

Giving her a kiss before they took her through, I broke down.

‘What if she doesn’t make it?’ I sobbed in Greg’s arms.

She was in surgery for hours. Greg and I wore a track in the carpet, anxiously pacing up and down.

‘Isn’t she out yet?’ I asked a nurse, who shook her head.

Bella's progression photos

Eventually, Aunt Jeneen came over with Jackson.

‘He hasn’t stopped crying, and he won’t eat,’ she said.

‘Poor little fella,’ Greg said, giving him a cuddle.

Then a nurse appeared.

‘Bella’s out but she’s not recovering as well as we hoped,’ she told us gently. ‘Her heart rate’s very fast and her oxygen levels are too low. They’re trying to stabilise her.’

‘Can we bring her twin in to see if that helps?’ I pleaded.

‘No, we can’t have more people in the room,’ she said.

But the surgeon said it was worth a try, so we raced in to see Bella.

I barely recognised her. She lay there unconscious, on oxygen and morphine, her bandaged head swollen like a balloon.

‘Bella?’ I said, but she didn’t respond.

Terrified we were losing her, we lay Jackson by her side. Taking her hand in his, he snuggled right up to comfort her.

Then, to our astonishment, Bella’s vitals started rising right in front of our eyes and her heart rate calmed.

‘He’s pulling her through!’ Greg exclaimed.

‘That’s amazing…’ the doctor said.

‘Well done Jackson!’ I said through my tears.

Eventually, Bella opened her eyes and gave us a beautiful grin.

‘Bella, you’re back!’ I cried, ecstatic. 

In fact, she recovered so well that on the fifth day, she was allowed home.

Bella, Jackson, Jhorjie, Dominic and Olivia

Her eyes stopped bulging, and she didn’t cry constantly. By the time she had the springs removed at nine months, she was a different baby.

She smiled continually, met all her milestones, and on her first birthday, she took her first step.

Over the years, Bella had regular check-ups with Westmead Hospital’s wonderful crano-facial team and, aged 10, she was signed off for good as she had recovered so well.

Now 12, Bella has progressed in leaps and bounds – literally – becoming a competitive contemporary dancer, performing backflips on stage. And she’s become a little soccer superstar.

Jackson, meanwhile, isn’t a sports fan but loves all things technological.

They’re like chalk and cheese!

Their other siblings, Jhorjie, 16, Dominic, 14, and Olivia, 10, know all about Jackson helping Bella.

Even now, he’s protective, sticking by her side whenever she’s unwell.

We’ll always be grateful to the doctors, specialists, and nurses who enabled Bella to grow up to be a happy little girl.

But it’s wonderful to think that it was her twin who pulled her through when she was at her lowest ebb.

Their love literally saved her life.

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Recommended to you

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

TWINS' HORROR: Separated at birth for a CRUEL experiment

TWINS' HORROR: Separated at birth for a CRUEL experiment

HEARTWARMING REUNION: 27 days before our twins' first hug

HEARTWARMING REUNION: 27 days before our twins' first hug

Mum of identical twins with Down syndrome was offered an abortion six times

Mum of identical twins with Down syndrome was offered an abortion six times

Mum's two-minute miracle: 'I delivered my own bub on the bathroom floor!'

Mum's two-minute miracle: 'I delivered my own bub on the bathroom floor!'

{headline}

{headline}

68-year-old woman gives birth to 'miracle' twins

68-year-old woman gives birth to 'miracle' twins

BIRTH SHOCK: Young Melbourne model has SURPRISE BABY on bathroom floor

BIRTH SHOCK: Young Melbourne model has SURPRISE BABY on bathroom floor

Baby survives being ripped from mother’s WOMB in horror crash

Baby survives being ripped from mother’s WOMB in horror crash

{headline}

{headline}

Can You Believe We're Twins!

Can You Believe We're Twins!

I had a bub on a ferry!

I had a bub on a ferry!

Aussie mum gives birth to baby at pub carpark

Aussie mum gives birth to baby at pub carpark

Pregnant at 51 – My mum had my baby

Pregnant at 51 – My mum had my baby

Waitress saves boy who was tortured by his parents by getting him to secretly signal for help

Waitress saves boy who was tortured by his parents by getting him to secretly signal for help

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Twice the height, double the LOVE!

Twice the height, double the LOVE!

ThatsLife
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy
ThatsLife Magazine Subscribe
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • New Idea
  • Who
  • Girlfriend
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • Hard to Find
  • Australian Women's Weekly
© 2023 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. Are Media and its brands may have generated text partially using generative AI. Upon generating draft language, our editors review, edit, and revise it to their own liking. We take ultimate responsibility for the content of our publications.
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Shop This Offer
Subscribe to That's Life!