Miracle triplets start school

Miracle triplets Chrisovalantis, Konstantinos and George Hajis are three of 44,100 Victorian prep students who will start their first day at school today.

Yet for these special little boys, today is an extra special milestone. An emotional Anastasia Hajis recalls that five months into her pregnancy, doctors told her that her babies may not survive.

Chrisovalantis and George were suffering twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, meaning that George was getting too much blood, whilst Chrisovalantis had too little, stunting his growth.

The boys were operated on while in the womb in an Australian-first procedure and were born premature, but without complications.

“From what I’ve gone through to now I’m so proud of them for what they’ve accomplished and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Anastasia says.

“It’s mixed emotions today. I’m sad because I’ve had them for five years but for them to reach this milestone, I’m happy as I nearly lost them at 19 weeks.”

Today the boys are as full of beans as you’d expect five year old boys to be, even Chrisovalantis, who is suffering from cerebral palsy.

Chrisovalantis can’t run or jump, although still persists to jump on his family trampoline, showing off his “on the ground somersault” and grinning about how he is excited to be starting school.

Although Ms Hajis says she is worried that his condition will affect him during his first year at Tucker Road Bentleigh Primary School.

“I don’t know what his mobility will be with writing and this will push him back until he has his operation in a couple of years,” she says.

“But he’s a little boy that is ambitious and never gives up. Thank God for his brothers who support him and encourage him to keep trying.”