Warning: This article contains graphic content
A woman has revealed how her newborn twins saved her life after their birth led to the diagnosis of a mysterious illness.
Jennifer French, 38, from LLechryd, Wales, had been suffering from agonising symptoms for years, but was only diagnosed after her second set of twins - Rupert and Molly - were born.
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After the twins arrived, Jennifer found out she had severe liver failure, that had been causing her skin to 'rot' and left her days away from death.
Mum-of-five Jennifer first noticed her skin turning black in March 2017. She also started suffering from chillblains - small, itchy patches on the skin that often occur in cold temperatures.
Even the slightest breeze on her skin left her in so much pain she was 'unable to walk', but doctors struggled to find the cause of her symptoms.
The symptoms continued, and when Jennifer's twins were born prematurely, after she began to bleed while driving, doctors discovered two blood clots on her liver.
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The discovery came after Jennifer - already mum to twins 11-year-old, Aerona and Salvador, and son, Joel, five - opted to get the contraceptive injection after birth.
"I didn't want any more children after a surprise second set of twins," she says.
“After the injection, I swelled up with fluid and I looked nine months pregnant again. After lots of tests doctors discovered I had a two-blood clot on my liver.
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"The second one was probably from the injection and the first one had been there for a while. The clot caused my liver to swell up and led to all the strange symptoms.
“At this point, I was in severe liver failure. If they hadn’t caught it then, I might not have made it much longer.
"I can't thank the doctors and surgeons enough - it was a long-road but we finally got there.
"My kids have spent most of their life seeing me in pain and discomfort. Hopefully I can help other people spot the signs of liver failure and get themselves checked out. This is the first year my kids get to have a happy, healthy mum.
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“In a funny way, having my second twins saved my life."
Jennifer was finally diagnosed with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) – a liver condition where the blood vessels become narrow and blocked. The mum was fitted with a stent in her liver to help blood flow and is now pain free.
Reflecting on some of the symptoms she'd had over the year, Jennifer explained how she had noticed the skin under her fingers and toes turning black, breathlessness, swelling in her legs, weight loss, and a yellow-tinge to her skin.
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“The nerve pain I got from the chilblains was so bad all year round," she says.
“I dressed like an Eskimo in the height of summer and could only do 10 minutes outside at most. I also got random shooting pains while at rest.
“I couldn’t lay down flat and ended up sleeping upright on the sofa for the next two years.”
We're so glad Jennifer got the help she needed.
Lucy Devine