SWNS
A mum-to-be was devastated when she had a miscarriage six weeks into her pregnancy – only to be told that she'd been carrying twins and one of the babies had survived.
Grieving Michelle Hui, 31, had five scans and had even been given an abortion pill as part of the follow-up procedure following the loss of her baby.
But days later, as Michelle was being prepared for a final treatment to clear her uterus, a preparatory scan revealed a tiny heartbeat.
Doctors then discovered that she had been pregnant with twins – and one had miraculously survived.
Michelle, who already had two children, went on to give birth to baby, Megan, now 18 weeks old. She and her husband Ross, 33, could not be more proud.
Michelle said: "The miscarriage and abortion were absolutely horrific. The 10 days between the miscarriage and going back to the hospital were just a blur.
"To find out I had to go in for another procedure, I was devastated. But then I saw this little heartbeat, but I thought it couldn't be right. After all we had been through, I didn't want to get my hopes up.
"The doctor went out and came back in with a more senior doctor and he did the scan again and he said, 'you are not going to believe it, we've got a heartbeat'. It was the best feeling ever.
"Now Megan is fine, she's healthy and she is just a big healthy pudding of a baby. The doctors said it was a blessing. They have never heard of anything like it. Someone had been looking over us."
Michelle was six weeks and two days into her pregnancy when she suffered the miscarriage while walking to the train station last July.
She said: "Everything was fine initially. I had booked in my scan and had an appointment the next day.
"I was on my way to work and I just started gushing blood. I rang my husband and told him I was losing the baby. He couldn't come and get me because he had the other two kids so I had to walk home."
She then went to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin where she claims two different doctors carried out a total of five scans before concluding she had lost her baby.
She was given two abortion pills and after an overnight stay at the hospital was allowed home.
She said: "After I lost the baby I went out with friends and had a bottle and a half of wine. I was devastated – and drank myself silly. I never ever drink that much. I'm not a drinker."
While doctors said there was no chance she was still pregnant, she was told to take a pregnancy test which would reveal whether any harmful clots had remained.
The test was positive, so she went back to hospital for a D&C (dilation and curettage) – a surgical procedure to remove the contents of the uterus. But it was at that point the doctors spotted a heartbeat on a scan.
Michelle said: "I couldn't believe it. Neither could the doctors. But as happy as I was, I was angry they had missed her on the scans.
"They said that with all the blood and clots it must have created shadows so they couldn't see her.
"They said I was blessed. I've been written about in medical journals, and the doctor said that in all his 25 years he has never come across or heard of anything like this."
Megan was born on February 25, weighing just under six pounds, a little sister to Mya, four, and Noah, two.
Michelle, from County Kildare, Ireland, said: "She's our little miracle. We were always a strong family, but it has just made us stronger. I wouldn't have been able to get through it all if it had not been for my husband and my two children.
"It was an incredibly difficult time, but now we have a precious and healthy little girl."