Patty Tweedie, with four-month-old son Jonathan

by Jamie Bullen

After the brutal murder of her father 10 years ago, Patricia Tweedie and husband Brent packed up and left South Africa to make a better life for their baby Nancy.

River View, Sturry, was to be their new home, and three years after moving in the couple welcomed their first son Sidney into the world.

But as the years passed the couple felt their family was not yet complete, so tried for a third child.

Patricia, 36, who works as a teaching assistant at Sturry Primary School, said: “My children were getting older and I felt I wasn’t ready for them to fly the nest.

“I’ve always wanted to have three children and I knew we didn’t have much time. I looked around and felt as though I wasn’t happy, so we decided to try for another.”

Patricia, Brent and children Sidney, Nancy and Jonathan

In July 2010 the couple’s prayers were answered when Patricia fell pregnant, but their joy soon turned to heartache when doctors told them they had miscarried with no explanation.

Patricia said: “It was eight weeks in when I miscarried, which was also on the same day as our wedding anniversary. They say you have a higher chance of miscarriage in your 30s, but you just don’t see it coming. You think having a miscarriage is never going to happen to you.

“Not only are you mourning your baby, but you’re also questioning if you have done something wrong.”

Still determined, the couple continued trying and Patricia thought their fortunes had reversed in April 2011 when she was told they were expecting again – and this time with twins.

But in the early weeks of pregnancy, she began to suffer from extreme sickness and was concerned for her babies.

The Tweedie children

A 14-week scan confirmed her fears when doctors told the couple the babies were conjoined.

They were referred to King’s College Hospital in London, where specialists delivered the devastating news that the babies would not survive through pregnancy.

They were told they were conjoined-parasitic, a condition that affects only one in a million babies, with experts saying it was only the second case they had ever come across.

Patricia said: “The only way I can describe it is like my own personal horror film. It just didn’t feel real and I couldn’t take it in.

“Hearing the words ‘one-in-a-million’ will never mean the same again.

“Normally those words are used to describe something positive, but we were thinking why are we the ones?”

The couple took the heartbreaking decision to have a therapeutic termination, but Patricia still needed to deliver because of how far she was gone.

"hearing the words ‘one-in-a-million’ will never mean the same again" – mum patricia tweedie

They named their sons Jonny and Clive after family members and after their mutual love of the Sex Pistols, which is also where their oldest children get their names.

In the couple’s living room, they still keep the blanket the boys were wrapped in at the hospital to remember them by.

Patricia said: “Having to deliver the babies was very traumatic.”

Despite the years of suffering and false hope, the couple decided to press on and agreed they would have a final shot at having the third baby they always craved. In February last year, Patricia was told she was pregnant for the third time in two years, sparking both joy and fear.

She said: “When I found out I was pregnant I was absolutely terrified.

“I didn’t even tell my close friends because I couldn’t face telling them I’d lost a baby again.

“I just didn’t want to face anyone.”

However, their dreams were finally realised on November 16 when Jonathan was born a healthy 8lbs 15oz. He has now been christened and is at home under the loving care of his parents and siblings.

Brent said: “I was ecstatic and proud to have another son to carry on the Tweedie name.”

Patricia added: “All the suffering we have been through to have Jonathan has been worthwhile.

“He is special and the kids know he is special. They have already developed an emotional attachment. When he cries they cry. For us he is a miracle.”