If Karen Ralph was surprised about having twins the first time, imagine how she felt when she learned that she was having a second set.
“My initial reaction was one of shock. My first thought was, ‘I have to go through all this again?’ but you just accept it straight away, she said.
Karen, of Buderim, is mother to Emily and Samantha, aged four, and Andrew and Claire, who just turned one.
The chances of a similar naturally conceived double take on double trouble are estimated at one in 8-10,000.
To anyone who is not a twin, twins are fascinating. They have a lifelong bond that other siblings may envy but cannot hope to emulate: they share their own language, plot their own games from early childhood, share bedrooms and birthday parties.
For Leanne Houghton, 15, that special closeness was to save her life.
It is not unusual to hear of one twin getting a headache when the other has a migraine, or feeling a twinge in a tooth when the other has a filling. But when Leanne, who is epileptic, had spent too long in the bath, it was her twin Gemma's “sixth sense” that drove her to burst into the bathroom to find her sister unconscious in the water.
Gemma dragged Leanne out and, using her first-aid skills, managed to revive her.
According to newspaper reports, Gemma always feels dizzy when Leanne has a fit.
“I got this feeling to check on her,” Gemma said. “She was under the water. At first I thought she was washing her hair or playing a trick, but when I lifted her head out I saw she had turned blue. I knew she'd had a fit.”
Without Gemma, Leanne would almost certainly be dead.
Although the twins are not identical, according to their mother they are inseparable and share an uncanny bond. So are they truly telepathically linked by a shared intuition?
| VENUE | Adelaide Showground, Wayville |
| DATES | Friday 13 to Sunday 15 March 2009 |
| TIMES | Friday 10am - 4pm (last admission 3pm) Saturday and Sunday 10am - 5pm (last admission 4pm) |
| ADMISSION | Adults: $12 Pensioners: $8 Children under 14: FREE |
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