An emotional mum watched on last week as her “wee miracle” twin daughters took their first steps in primary school.
Charley and Joni Ruth were born nine weeks early after mum Tracy Burke suffered from a serious pregnancy complication pre-eclampsia.
Joni weighted a tiny two lbs 13 oz and her sister Charley was bigger at four lbs but was struck by a serious lung infection.
The babies needed special care for weeks after, a worrying time for mum Tracy Burke and dad David Ruth.
But the girls are now happy and thriving and they marked a major milestone last week when they started school.
Reliving the girl’s traumatic birth, Tracy, 42, from Old Kilpatrick, told the Lennox: “Charley’s lung had collapsed and she had a lung infection. She was whisked away to the Southern General within 48 hours of being born.
“She was away for a couple of days. It was really quite traumatic.”
Dad David went to the hospital with Charley who came on leaps and bounds and was allowed home with mum Tracy within a month of being born.
A couple of weeks later, after monitoring, Joni was also allowed home too and the whole family were able to settle into normal life together.
Now mum Tracy is getting used to the girls heading off to school at St Joseph’s Primary in Clydebank every morning.
But she admits last Monday, when the pair started school, was challenging as there was someone very important missing.
Tracy’s mum Elizabeth Burke who worked for Clydebank Carers died earlier in the summer leaving a huge gap in their lives.
Tracy said: “It was really emotional because my mum passed away in June. She didn’t get to see them in their uniforms. She had cancer but had got a respiratory infection. It was hard.”
Tracy however was buoyed by her daughters’ enthusiasm to start their new chapter.
She told us: “They said ‘let’s go. It’s our school day. We need to go’.
“Charley has always been a wee bit more confident than Joni and they have got each other.
“They went in as happy as anything.”
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