CHEEKY twins Sophie and Evie Wright are today full of the joys of life and more than happy to give their parents the runaround.

The tiny twosome are preparing to celebrate their fourth birthday on April 1 but the circumstances of their birth were certainly no joke to their parents.

The pair were born eight weeks and two days early at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and had to be immediately transferred to the hospital’s specialist Trevor Mann baby unit.

Evie was the smaller of the two but the bigger and stronger Sophie had the most immediate health problem after developing a ruptured lung when she was just two days old.

Mum Helen, from Brighton, said: “They caught it and they saved her. She was intubated and on morphine for days but all she has to show for it now is a scar you practically need a magnifying glass to find.”

Sophie went on to make a full recovery.

Evie had a list of issues after she was born, including a bleed on the brain, high blood pressure in the lungs, low blood pressure in the bowels and a heart murmur but was able to beat them all.

The youngsters spent six weeks on the unit before being discharged and have grown up to be fit and well.

Mrs Wright said: “We are definitely one of the lucky ones because you would never know they arrived so soon.

“They are completely full of energy and really confident and happy to talk to people.

“Sophie is probably the more girly of the two and her favourite colour is pink.

“Evie is a little bit more tomboy-ish and is more likely to run around a lot more.

“They love playing with their brother Will, who is just 14 months old. It’s like having triplets sometimes.”

Mrs Wright and her husband John, from Brighton, are grateful to the unit which saved their daughters’ lives and became involved with the Early Birth Association to help support the Trevor Mann unit’s work.

She said: “They were amazing and we just want to do everything we can to help.

“The girls are completely fine and really lively and we are just so thankful for that.”

Sophie and Evie and their dad John visited Asda in Hollingbury, Brighton, on behalf of the Early Birth Association.

The store raised £200 for the charity through its green token scheme, where customers choose a charity to donate to.

Mrs Wright added: “We’d like to say a big thank you to every customer who chose our charity to donate to. We are really grateful.”

Asda community life champion Kerry Ancell, said: “The girls were great. They were very cute and really excited.”

Help and support group for parents

THE Early Birth Association is made up of a group of parents who have had premature or sick babies in special care units.
It offers help and support to new parents who are facing the same traumatic experiences that they faced.
It also raises money to buy equipment for the Trevor Mann and the special care baby unit at Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.
For more details, visit www.earlybirth.co.uk.