Patti,
these are Pom Poms!
Today I will be trying out a new pattern to make a Santa Hat for my 12 year old nephew, Tommy. He is in his glory around Christmas with the frenzy of Santa and decorating and such.
Tommy is twin to Kevin. Tommy and Kevin are identical twins. They had the dubious distinction of sharing a single placenta. The condition is called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Quite often neither twin survives as there is a disproportional blood supply.
TTTS: (excerpt from
Wikipedia)
As a result of sharing a single placenta, the blood supplies of monochorionic twin fetuses can become connected, so that they share blood circulation: although each fetus uses its own portion of the placenta, the connecting blood vessels within the placenta allow blood to pass from one twin to the other. Depending on the number, type and direction of the interconnecting blood vessels (anastomoses), blood can be transferred disproportionately from one twin (the "donor") to the other (the "recipient"). The transfusion causes the donor twin to have decreased blood volume, retarding the donor's development and growth, and also decreased urinary output, leading to a lower than normal level of amniotic fluid (becoming oligohydramnios). The blood volume of the recipient twin is increased, which can strain the fetus's heart and eventually lead to heart failure, and also higher than normal urinary output, which can lead to excess amniotic fluid (becoming polyhydramnios).
In early pregnancy (before 26 weeks), TTTS can cause both fetuses to die, or lead to severe disabilities. If TTTS develops after 26 weeks, the babies can usually be delivered alive and have a greater chance of survival without disability.
But both Kevin and Tommy survived, despite the fact they it was not known that they shared a single placenta until they were being born. SisterDear Janice's Doctor had no clue during her pregnancy, despite excellent pre-natal care, tests and sonograms for her high-risk pregnancy. You see, not only was she carrying twins, but Janice had had a history of miscarriages between her first 2 older children...
and she was 41 years old!
As you can see from Tommy's (L) and Kevin's (R) hospital photo below, on the day that Tommy was being released from the hospital, there was a distinct difference in their weight. Tommy's weight was about half of Kevin's. Kevin's birth weight was normal at a bit over 6 pounds and he got to go home right away while Tommy had to remain in the NICU for about 3 weeks. Even so, he was still under 4 pounds when he finally got to go home.
But that is not the only difference.
As it turned out Tommy suffered a Brain Injury in utero due to lack of oxygen. He has also been diagnosed as PDD/NOS, which is in the Autism Spectrum. Fortunately, Tommy is very high-functioning. He has just recently had Bipolar Disorder added to his list of diagnoses.
This boy is normally is a joy to be around, although whilst getting adjusted to a new med his tantruming is quite challenging for his mother, his teachers and well, for everyone. This last month has been quite difficult, in fact.
Tommy always gets into a heightened level of excitement around the holidays. He plans and decorates and has costumes for every holiday. And I do mean EVERY holiday. Halloween is what Janice refers to as "his High Holy Day" and Christmas is right at the top of his list while Thanksgiving isn't quite as high on Tommy's radar.
Sorry... This post wasn't planned to be about TTTS and Autism and such. It's just that I wanted to do a special hat for Tommy and I have been looking for a Santa Hat crochet pattern that is fairly simple, as I am not all that fancy a crochet-er and I finally found one yesterday! I'm excited to start it which will be right after I finish the hat I am currently crocheting for his brother Kevin.
If I finish Tommy's Santa Hat I'll be going to BWTB with Mother Dear.
Wish me luck! I'll need it. I hate following patterns!
