Devoted dad from Leighton Buzzard told daughter might have been born with half a brain takes on challenge for charity that supported family

A devoted dad is taking on a cycle challenge in honour of the Twins Trust which helped him and his wife through crushing uncertainty over their family’s future.

David Willis from Leighton Buzzard is preparing to take on Ride London 100 at the end of May to raise money and awareness of the work of the Twins Trust which supports families to manage and prepare for multiple births as well as campaigning and researching in the field.

David and his wife Weronika welcomed April and Bonnie to the world four years ago. During Weronika’s pregnancy, an ultrasound scan appeared to show one of them was missing half of her brain.

The dad-of-two described the feelings experienced by the couple: “You of course hope for the most amazing life for your children and, at that point, we feared that her life would be very difficult indeed. The sense of despair after the elation of meeting our girls for the first time was immeasurable. We had feelings of guilt, failure as parents, despair for her future.

“But we of course would have loved her and provided the best opportunities possible for her.”

As well as providing advice and preparation for twin life, the couple turned to the trust during the ‘dark times’, as described by David.

David revealed the charity had helped him through his emotional distress as they waited for a follow-up scan.

He explained: “The trust's helpline supported me in confidence and just listened with understanding and empathy. I was trying to be strong for my wife and of course we couldn't show any level of sadness to the girls, as they would have picked up on it.

“I reached a certain level of mental calm and was encouraged to be patient and wait for the follow-up MRI in a few months. The ability to talk to another twin parent who understood, rather than just reading a script, was so helpful and meant I could focus on reading to the girls and helping my wife on the ward.”

Happily, after months of waiting, the family was given the all-clear.

Today, April and Bonnie are a healthy size and are preparing for school in September.

Since then, the Twins Trust have helped with issues from sleep, and behaviour to helping to ensure the girls are placed at the same school.

David added: “The feeling of joy we have watching them grow and thrive is without words. “We do not forget what happened, the help we received, how it could have been, or that there are people whose stories do not follow the path ours has.

“Twin and multiple pregnancies remain high risk and the support the trust provides is so special and by people who have been through it. Simply an amazing charity.”

Despite recently recovering from a back injury, David will take to the streets of London on May 28 to attempt to achieve his £3,500 target in aid of the trust which, like many charities, has been impacted by the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Visit his Just Giving page to support David’s cause.