Jesy Nelson has been told that her twin babies will “never walk” after they received a devastating health diagnosis.
The former Little Mix singer gave birth to daughters Ocean Jade and Story Monroe prematurely last May after a turbulent pregnancy and has now revealed that the tots have been diagnosed with the rare genetic condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — which she described as “the most severe muscular disease”.
Jesy, 34, said in an emotional Instagram video on Sunday (Jan 4): “The girls have now been diagnosed with a severe muscle disease called SMA type one. For those of you who don’t know what SMA type one is, it’s a severe muscular disease that a baby can get.
“It’s done for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which can affect, well it does affect every muscle in the body, down to legs, arms, breathing, swallowing.
“And essentially, what it does is, over time, it kills the muscle to the body, and if it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”
Jesy — who welcomed the eight-month-old twins with her partner Zion Foster — explained that her daughters were assessed at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and how she was told that her children would both be disabled and “never able to walk”.
The singer said: “When they assessed the girls at Great Ormond Street, we were told that they will never be able to walk and never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled.”
Nelson added that the babies have started having treatment and claimed that would have died without it.
She said: “And so the best thing we can do right now is to get the treatment, and then just hope for the best. So hopefully the girls have had their treatment, which you’re so grateful for.
“Because if they don’t have it, they will die.”
Jesy explained that she has had to put her daughters on “breathing machines” and act as their nurse since the diagnosis.
She said: “The reason I wanted to make this video was because the last three months have honestly been the most heartbreaking time of my life. I literally feel like my whole life has done a 360.”
Jesy concluded that she hopes her daughters can “defy the odds” and revealed that she wanted to share their diagnosis with the world in the hope of helping other parents getting their children treated as soon as possible.
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