"My children were born two years apart and nobody believes me when I say they are twins"

When Rachel and her husband Mac McCarthy say they had twins born two years apart, no one seems to believe the news. To be blunt, if they are twins, they should have been born on the same day or, in any event, within a short time apart, right? Rachel and Mac, however, explained how Jorgey McCarthy, a 4-year-old girl, and Vinney McCarthy, 2, were conceived via in vitro fertilization from the same batch of embryos from their parents. Although the two were born two years apart from each other, this particular case still makes them twins (but not identical ones).

via Mirror

Mac, Rachel's husband, had already had two daughters from a previous relationship and had undergone a vasectomy. For the new couple, the only possibility of having biological children was to try in vitro fertilization, since the operation to "undo" Mac's vasectomy had not been successful: "The reversal of the Mac's vasectomy didn't work," Rachel said,"so we knew IVF was the only way we could have children." After saving £ 10,000 pounds ($12,250 dollars), the couple chose this path.

Rachel and Mac had to go to Spain to start the treatment, which lasted several months and was not without its difficulties. The couple had to go through two major disappointments after the first two treatments failed; finally, at the third, and after 18 months, things seemed to go differently at last: four embryos had finally been created. The couple decided to freeze two and transfer the rest into Rachel: "From the first transfer, I got pregnant with twins, but on the 12-week ultrasound, we found that only one had survived: Jorgey."

"It was difficult," continued Rachel, "because I was so happy that one child had survived, but at the same time I was really sad that the other hadn't - I felt guilty for feeling happy."

The couple knew that the two remaining embryos represented their last chance to have another baby and so they tried IVF again a couple of years later. History repeated itself in a similar way: only one child managed to survive: Vinney.

Since then, Vinney and Jorgey have been inseparable. Rachel said, "Two years is a big difference when they're little - so much so that people can't believe it when I say they're twins."

After all these attempts, Rachel and Mac have finally succeeded in making their dream come true and can now enjoy their family life with great peace of mind. Best wishes to this family!