'Miracle' twins born 17 weeks early - one with hands the size of her dad's fingernail

'Miracle' twins born 17 weeks early - one with hands the size of her dad's fingernail Twins Orla and Frankie were born several weeks early and weighed just 1lb 1oz and 1lb and 5oz, respectively - the pair spent 161 days in hospital while being cared for "Miracle" twins who were born 17 weeks early have spent eight months in hospital after one was born with hands the size of her dad's fingernail. Amy Sharkey, 32, gave birth to her daughter Orla at 23 weeks and two days weighing just 1lb 1oz and her son Frankie was born four days later weighing 1lb and 5oz. Their mum and her partner Jack Ginn, 33, were told the chances for survival are typically below 10 per cent. Frankie spent 161 days in hospital before being discharged in February 2026. Orla spent a further 61 days battling before the whole family came home in April this year. The couple say the twins are now "doing amazing", despite still dealing with multiple health complications. Jack, a construction worker, from Linlithgow in West Lothian, Scotland, added: "She was the size of my hand. She was basically the size of a mango with small arms and legs. I would say she was tiny. Her hands were the size of my fingernail. "Frankie didn't seem much bigger. Still the size of my hand. I would say pictures don't do the size justice. Orla is a little boss lady. She's a bit crazy and feisty, that's what's got her here. "Frankie is just a sweet little mummy's boy, loves a chat and a cuddle. Even before their due date we could see their little personalities." Amy's pregnancy was totally "normal" until her 20 week scan and the couple said there were no signs of anything to worry about. However, Amy, who shared her story with Sell Us Your Story, said she was already two centimetres dilated on August 19 2025, four and a half months before her babies were due. She was another centimetre dilated the following day and admitted to hospital on August 20 where she had a cervical stitch put in to close it. Jack said: "We believe the stitch bought us the extra days we needed. Without the stitch, I don't think they would be here." After spending a few days at home, fluid began to leak from Orla's amniotic sac and Amy, a caterer, was admitted to the Royal Hospital in Edinburgh. On September 6, the stitch was removed due to an infection and the following day, Orla was born at 23 weeks and two days - weighing the same as a small bag of sugar. After Orla's birth, Amy's cervix closed but Frankie still needed to come out and he was beginning to contract an infection from Orla's placenta. "They had to give me a hormone drip to restart the labour, basically to hurry up and get Frankie out, because obviously it's not a good place for him to be inside while there's a bad infection going on," Amy said. Frankie was born four days after his sister, on September 11. The twins were both rushed to the neonatal unit and when Orla was 10 days old she contracted a bowel infection called Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC), that in turn caused three bowel perforations. She had three surgeries including a full laparotomy - open abdominal surgery - the first when she was just 10 days old, the second at 17 days and the third on Feb 26 at around five and a half months. Jack said the couple were asked multiple times if they wanted to turn to palliative care for their baby. He said: "There's no option for surgery after the second lot of perforations. They put a drain site in and we just hope for the best and we were asked three times if we wanted to stop any care and turn to palliative care. "She had to basically have a full laparotomy - everything taken out, cut away and reconnected. She had a stoma for over 100 days in the neonatal unit." Surgeons were able to reverse Orla's stoma and reconnect her bowel in February 2026 but she still does not have a colon, which was removed during surgery. "She far exceeded all the consultants and surgeons and doctors' expectations," Jack said.Frankie has chronic lung disease, pulmonary hypertension in his heart and recently had laser eye surgery for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a common eye condition which affects premature babies. Orla also has ROP but hers is less severe than her brother's. Frankie was discharged on February 19, 161 days after he was born and the family lived in a charity house inside the hospital until Orla was discharged on April 20, 225 days after she entered the world. "We lived in the hospital. We were only home a handful of times and never stayed," said Jack. Both babies are still fed through a tube and Frankie is on 24-hour oxygen. Amy said she thinks Orla's health issues "will last through her life" but is hoping that Frankie will soon be able to come off the oxygen tube and breathe independently. The couple said they "couldn't have done the journey" without the nurses and doctors from the Simpsons Special Care Babies Unit and the Ronald MacDonald charity. Jack said: "Without them we couldn't have done the journey and the babies wouldn't be here without them either because they certainly don't do their job for the money, from what we've seen with Frankie and Orla. They were just so dedicated to their care and to us as well, because we didn't have much support. It was me and Amy in the hospital for all that time with not many visitors. "We just lived and breathed the hospital. Weeks would go by without even fresh air because you were just by their side." The couple said that it felt like a miracle that the twins are alive, with Jack adding that Orla "proved everybody wrong, every hurdle, she never let up".