Joe Harker
Jesy Nelson shared an emotional update on her children as she told her followers on social media they had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy.
Before her twins Ocean Jade and Story Monroe had been born, she revealed her babies were Mono/Di twins, which meant they were living off one placenta in the womb and could cause problems.
She said there could be 'lots of complications' and it had come as a shock to her and partner Zion Foster as they 'had no clue that this kind of thing happens when you have twins'.
The twins were born in May last year, being delivered two months premature, and people told Jesy they were hoping for the best possible news on the health of her children.
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Sadly, the Little Mix star said the babies had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which can cause muscle weakness and wasting.
The 34-year-old mum said the disease 'affects every muscle in the body down to legs, arms, breathing and swallowing' and that time was of the essence to get it treated.
"If it's not treated in time, your baby's life expectancy will not make it past the age of two," Jesy explained tearfully, as she said that staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital had told her that her daughters would probably not be able to walk.
She said that a few months back her mother had 'noticed that the girls were not showing as much movement in their legs as they should be'.
The singer had been told not to compare her children to others due to their premature birth as 'they won't reach the same milestones' and to give them time, adding that healthcare visitors had told her the babies looked 'healthy'.
However, Jesy said that after several months they were diagnosed with 'the most severe muscular disease a baby can get', saying that if it wasn't treated in time, a baby's life expectancy 'will not make it past the age of two'.
"The best thing we can do right now is to get them treatment, hope for the best," she said.
"Thankfully, the girls have had their treatment which I'm so grateful for because if they don't have it they will die, but it has just been endless amounts of hospital appointments.
"I practically feel like the hospital has become my second home. I almost feel like I've had to become a nurse in the space of two weeks of getting their diagnosis."
Jesy explained her children had type one spinal muscular atrophy, and the NHS says there is no cure for the condition but treatments are available to ensure people with it have the best possible quality of life.