In October 2014, at only around 9 weeks pregnant, my husband, Dan, and I found out that we were pregnant with twins, but one didn’t have a heartbeat. We were told that this would be a case of “vanishing twin syndrome,” in which our demised twin was so small that my body would absorb his and that the remainder of our pregnancy would continue as a normal singleton pregnancy. In January, however, when I was 20 weeks pregnant, it was discovered that our demised twin had grown. We were diagnosed with TRAP sequence and from then on, our pregnancy was anything but normal. There were many ups and downs, but our Ethan was born via c-section at 34 weeks on May 4, 2015. He had many medical hurdles to jump in his first two years of life, but he is now a happy, healthy 7-year-old.

For us, TRAP sequence was scary. With it being such a rare pregnancy, we weren’t sure what to think and we felt alone. Since then, I have tried to prevent this sense of loneliness from affecting other families with TRAP. 

I am so glad to be The TTTS Foundation’s TRAP Coordinator to help support families who are currently going through TRAP or have already been through it. It is such a valuable thing to be able to talk with someone who has been through the same pregnancy as you have, especially when it is a pregnancy like TRAP. 

Please reach out if you need anything at all and join our groups below for compassionate help and support.

Join Kristen’s Group TRAP Sequence Mommies and Daddies and

The TTTS Foundation’s FIGHT TRAP Support Group