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Miracle school start for twins Sunny and Vivian Jones

Vivian has been taller and heavier than her sister, an ever-present reminder of what Sunny otherwise should have been.

Crisscross scars across Sunny’s belly tell a story of two liver transplants and a rare disease diagnosed at just 10 weeks old.

But in new school ­uniforms, which their ­mother, Minako, has struggled to get her girls to take off, this week the pair will look the same as any other children in the prep playground at ­Eltham East Primary, and Sunny will look just the same as her sister.

“They are really excited about starting on Wednesday. They couldn’t stop wearing their uniforms,” Mrs Jones said.

“I told them, ‘You are going to get it dirty’.”

Despite the possibility of having to wash new uniforms before school even starts, Mrs Jones said “every moment is unbelievable”.

There’s still the hospital visits once a month and medication four times a day.

“But we really couldn’t see the future like this, I’m just happy to get to this point and treat Sunny like a normal kid,” she said.

The twins will be among 82,000 Prep students starting school from tomorrow, with holidays ending for 992,400 children across the state.

At just ten 10 weeks old, doctors at the Royal Children’s Hospital found Sunny was suffering from biliary atresia, where her liver didn’t properly drain bile, causing it to fail.

“It was like a science experiment,” dad Trent said.

“Here was the healthy twin and then ... they’re not really identical anymore.”

As they grew old enough to walk, Vivian stood almost a head taller than her sister.

Sunny’s skin and eyes had a tinge of yellow and her appetite was poor.

And as they neared their third birthday, Sunny was deteriorating.

She had a surgery called the Kasai procedure where her bowel was attached to her liver to try and give some drainage.

But the surgery didn’t work and Sunny was put on the waiting list for a new liver.

Sunny received a transplant, but her body did not accept the organ, and then she received a second donation that brought her back to health.

Two years later, the little girl has grown to the same size as her sister.

“Actually, she’s 3kg heavier,” Mr Jones said.

“She’s a little gobble guts.”

No doubt making up for lost time.

Right now, 1433 Australians are waiting for an organ transplant.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/miracle-school-start-for-twins-sunny-and-vivian-jones/news-story/eea60c3afa377089410e349298f9b101

Sunny had a liver transplant

At 10 weeks old, Sunny was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare inflammatory condition affecting new-born babies, that causes a blockage in the bile ducts, the narrow tubes that transport bile to the gallbladder and small intestine.  

Sunny’s procedure to bypass the failing bile ducts was unfortunately unsuccessful, and she urgently needed a liver transplant.  

While a donor was found, Sunny suffered post-transplant complications and the transplant failed. Doctors put Sunny back on the waitlist.  

“I’ll never forget the stress,” says her father, Trent. “It was just, ‘Sh*t, are we going to lose her? How’s this going to go?’ The second time, it was panic stations looking for a donor.” 

Fortunately, Sunny received a second liver transplant within weeks and made it home for her third birthday. She is now nine years old and enjoying life as a typical kid. Sport is her favourite school activity.  

“I think her sister walked about six months earlier than her. She was so, so delayed, but now she’s bigger than her twin and winning races at school. It’s like we’ve come full circle,” Trent says. “We’re very lucky.” 

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