Identical twins with cystic fibrosis who were told their chance of falling pregnant naturally was highly unlikely, have both given birth just eight days apart.
Wendy and Michelle Duran were given a very 'low chance of conceiving' due to their inherited condition that causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system.
The chronic condition meant the women have thicker cervical mucus and can have ovulation issues causing the 30-year-old twins to fear they would never become mothers.
The sisters miraculously both fell pregnant at the start of 2020, with Michelle giving birth on October 23, and Wendy giving birth just eight days later on October 31.
Michelle's son Jojo, now 14 months, and Wendy's daughter Julianna, only met for the first time in October 2021, when Wendy travelled from her home in Florida to visit Michelle in New York, US.
Wendy, a stay-at-home mum, said: "We talked a lot on video calls while we were pregnant, like most people were during lockdowns.
"We message more than anything because Michelle works full-time, she's been such a great support.
"Sometimes we're both awake in the middle night because the babies were both up.
"It was amazing having someone to go through pregnancy with, especially with both of having high risk pregnancies due to cystic fibrosis."
Michelle, who is a nurse, spoke about how she and Wendy have been through almost all their life experiences together, and pregnancy has now been added to the list.
She said: "Going through life with a twin, you always have someone to go through things with.
"A twin relationship is so special, it's on another level to just being sisters.
"So it was so cool that we were pregnant together as well."
Wendy discovered she was pregnant just a month after Michelle, with both of them conceiving just a few month after starting to take Trikafta, a new drug for people with cystic fibrosis.
Wendy said: "We were never made to feel different or fragile because we had CF, but having children never felt achievable.
"The best moment was when we told our mom, Martha, we were both pregnant, she was so happy for us.
"She never thought in her wildest dreams that she would get to be a grandma!
"Neither my partner nor Michelle's have the recessive CF gene, which really reduces the chances of our babies having it, which is such a relief for both of us."
