f Tiny twins who beat the odds to make their first Christmas

FAMILY'S DEATH-DEFYING RABIES

- KATE SKELTON

As Holly Casling wraps the presents and prepares for her identical twins' first believe this moment has arrived.

Nine-month-old Olive and Penelope are happy and healthy but the death-defying tiny tots have beaten the odds to survive.

Holly, 32, was 16 weeks pregnant when doctors told her and husband Jack, 37, there was a problem with the blood supply between the babies.

Tragically, there was a high chance one or both of them would die.

"I've always loved Christmas and New Year," says Holly.

"We'd just had a lovely Christmas and we were planning to go to a NYE party in France with friends."

But Holly and Jack never made the journey. A routine scan days after Christmas revealed the twins had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

TTTS is a life-threatening condition that causes abnormal blood flow between two babies, resulting in uneven development.

The condition was advanced and there was a 40% chance of one baby surviving, a 40% chance of both surviving and a 20% chance of both FEARS Holly as expectant mum dying.

It was desperate news for the couple who struggled with infertility for years before the twins were conceived through IVF.