Tonight, the Sydney Swans took to the field wearing black and white armbands to support their teammate Gary Rohan as he and his wife Amie welcomed their twin girls into the world.
In November 2017, Gary announced he and Amie were pregnant with twins but one of the beautiful twins had been diagnosed with anencephaly. This means a large portion of the baby’s skull, scalp, and brain do not develop in the womb.
As Gary wrote in an Instagram post, “these babies live from a few moments to a few hours after birth. Babies born with anencephaly are not compatible with life.”
Amie gave birth to Bella Rae and Willow Nevaeh on Thursday and the twin sisters were just a minute apart. Willow Nevaeh, who had developed the birth defect passed away five hours later.
Gary and Amie, who have always been vocal about their baby’s diagnosis often posted to their Instagram with updates to raise awareness for anencephaly.
Though his teammates were on the field, they all showed their support.
We are wearing both a black and a white armband in today’s match to celebrate the lives of Gary and Amie Rohan’s twin girls, Bella Rae and Willow Nevaeh ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XjWFfZcOsO
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) April 14, 2018
The Swans went to win the match against the Dogs, 86-79.
Yesterday in an Instagram post, Gary welcomed his daughters into the world and thanked the hospital staff at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney.
Gary wrote “Amie, Bella and I soaked up every second we had with Willow, making as many lasting memories as we could together. It’s those moments we know we will never get back, and we will forever cherish the time we spent as our little family of four, before our darling Willow grew her little angel wings.”
Amie was originally due to give birth on May 18 but the little ones were just too keen to come into the world. Bella is currently in special care at the NICU nursery but Gary says she’s doing very well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhfp7rFnF6K/?taken-at=2029308170418170
All our immense love and support to the Rohan family.
