Woman finds 11lb mushroom – which feeds family for a week
A woman found a huge 11lb mushroom while out walking – and took it home to eat for a week.
Alissimon Minnitt, 27, was with her dad near North Marston, Bucks., when they spotted a large white object across a field.
Assuming someone had fly-tipped, Alissimon initially thought it was a fridge or plastic waste.
But, after touching it to confirm, she realised it was in fact a large puffball mushroom – which weighed a whopping 11 pounds.
Alissimon carried it to her parent’s home where she was staying for the week – and the mushroom fed her and her parents for the remainder of her stay.
Alissimon, a musician based in Chesham, Bucks., said: “I was so shocked when I realised it was a mushroom.
“It honestly was about twice the size of my head.
“It was a freaky coincidence as well because my dad and I were just talking about another mushroom we’d found in the area seven years ago while on our walk.
“And then there was just another massive one right there!”
The family made four different dishes with the mushroom, including a mushroom-base pizza and a mushroom ‘roast’, which Alissimon froze and took home with her.
Alissimon said: “I was surprised by how much we were able to get out of it. The mushroom roast my mum made was so good so I took some of it home frozen.
“It’s continued to keep me fed for a further month, though I’ll only have it a couple times a week.”
TfL jet-washed Banksy artwork off bridge over fears it would attract graffiti
A valuable Banksy mural has been deliberately destroyed by transport workers amid concerns it would ‘attract more graffiti’, it emerged today (tues).
The mural – featuring three, black monkeys swinging along an imaginary rope – was stencil sprayed on a span of concrete railway bridge in London.
However today it emerged that railway workers had deliberately removed the artwork using a high pressure washer.
The removal sparked horror among Bansky lovers who could not believe that the artwork which first appeared in August had been destroyed.
Horrified onlookers in Tower Hamlets, east London, spotted workers removing it from the bridge last week.
The bridge, which carries the London Overground’s Windrush Line between Shoreditch High Street and Whitechapel, is located on Brick Lane.
Pictures from the scene afterwards show some graffiti remains – but the Bristol artist’s piece is gone.
Now, after an investigation by online publication The Tab, Transport for London has admitted it is behind the removal of the artwork.
A Transport for London spokesperson said: “There are rules in place around graffiti or unauthorised art on the TfL network and there are good reasons why these must be followed.
“Sometimes graffiti or unauthorised art can attract more graffiti, which encourages trespassing and anti-social activity that poses a danger to the operational railway and customers, so this piece had to be removed.”
A protective cover had previously been placed over the monkeys, which some thought meant the piece would be staying in place.
The three monkeys were part of a series of Banksy artworks painted across the country’s capital this summer.
Other works included a painting of a gorilla letting out animals near London Zoo, and a goat on the side of a building in Richmond, south west London.
Some thought the three monkeys might have been a reference to the Japanese proverb ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’
On social media, users expressed their disappointment.
One user on Instagram said: “It doesn’t make any sense what they did, just look how people love it, many tourists coming to Brick Lane must be very disappointed now!”
Another commented: “A tragic aspect of British life – rules over joy and entertainment. Very puritanical move! “
Terminally ill dad converts wheelchair into Santa’s sleigh to raise funds
A terminally-ill dad dressed up as Santa and had his wheelchair converted into a sleigh and pulled by pals dressed as reindeer to raise money for his care.
Dad-of-one Dwayne Wells, 38, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in June 2023 and given between two and four years to live.
At the weekend Dwayne – who suffers the same condition which killed rugby legend Rob Burrow – dressed up in festive garb for Xmas Santa dash.
He was joined by friends and Rob Burrow’s close pal Kevin Sinfield for the dash in his home town of Saddleworth, Gtr Manchester.
The event was held to raise £100,000 to fund adaptions to Dwayne’s home to make his life more comfortable for him and wife Kerry.
After Dwayne had trouble completing the 2km dash last year on foot, they decided to transform his wheelchair into a sleigh to make it work.
Kerry, 36, said: “We built a sleigh to stick around his wheelchair, we had the closest male relatives as reindeers pulling the sleigh.
“There’s me dressed as Mrs Claus, our daughter dressed as an elf, and various other elves from our closest support network.
“We started the 2k race at the front, leading the way with the Nordic Walkers because we’re a lot slower, to prevent us getting crushed in the stampeded of Santas.
“We’re promoting the fact that we are fundraising and we’re a local family that needs a bit of help.”
Dwayne head of commercial at a bus company, first noticed something was wrong after hurting his thumb removing a crows’ nest from part of the family’s home in Spring 2022.
But when his injury still hurt by Christmas, he went to his GP who initially thought it was carpal tunnel.
When it hadn’t got any better in a couple of months he went back and was sent for further tests.
Dwayne bought himself a Ukulele to learn to play the couple’s wedding song, Lava.
But as time progressed, he couldn’t use the chords and lost the ability control his hand movement.
In June 2023, just a week after the couple’s honeymoon in Lanzarote, Dwayne was sent for further tests.
Doctors have since confirmed that Dwayne has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a fatal form of motor neurone disease.
It causes the progressive loss of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and Dwayne has been given just four years to live.
Rail firm worker Kerry said: “I just broke. I said ‘you need to come home’.
“Then he had a two-and-a-half hour drive back from the North East to home, with me on my own as well at home with this horrible news.”
Dwayne’s condition has now declined to the point that he can’t walk unaided or use a knife and fork.
The couple’s house has steps at both the front and back doors, meaning it takes Dwayne around an hour to leave the house.
The family is now facing more than £100,000 in costs to alter their home to make it fully wheelchair accessible.
Just changing the entrances will cost a whopping £53,000.
Kerry said: “We’ve lost what made us us, the fun. We were constantly at the theatre, going out shopping or going out for tea.
“We had a spreadsheet of all our favourite restaurants and were ranking them, and making our way around the country trying different things, documenting things so we could go back in the future.
“Now, we don’t really have that on the horizon.”
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Purple-Dwayne-wells to donate.
Toddler in 24/7 pain due to facial growth has had life-changing surgery
A toddler born with a rare growth on his head causing 24/7 pain has undergone a “last chance” life-changing surgery.
Little Emmanuel, three, was born with a condition which led to a large mass developing on the side of his head as he grew.
The tot’s family, from northern Sierra Leone, saw it grow bigger and bigger until his face became distorted.
He was also left in agony 24/7 – but doctors were unable to treat the growth, beyond offering him pain medication.
His parents, Manteneh and Yirah, would be asked about their son’s unusual condition daily and Yirah had to stop working to care for his son, leaving them struggling financially.
But after the family heard of international hospital charity Mercy Ships, which had their ship Global Mercy docked on the coast of Freetown, Sierra Leone, they sought help.
Emmanuel was diagnosed with lymphangioma – an abnormality of the lymphatic system that occurs during pregnancy – often not apparent until after the child is born.
After preliminary visits, Emmanuel went under the knife in April 2024 to remove the growth and was able to go home several days later.
Yirah said: “I was so worried for him. After they took him away for surgery, I couldn’t eat any food.
“When he came home from surgery, it was like we had just given birth to Emmanuel.
“The entire community was very happy for my son’s surgery. People around us were saying that Emmanuel is a newborn baby!”
Manteneh explained that shortly after her son was born, she noticed a white-coloured swelling around his ear.
Unsure of what to do, she compressed the area with warm water, but things began to worsen.
Manteneh said: “We went to so many local hospitals and clinics, but they sent us home.”
In the UK, Emmanuel’s treatment would have been available on the NHS, however in Sierra Leone, due to high unemployment rates and high inflation, families often cannot afford basic medical care.
Emmanuel’s lesion on the side of his face expanded until it was a large lump, causing him pain.
Though uncommon and noncancerous, the lump had the potential to cause facial nerve damage and distort the shape of his face.
Manteneh said: “Sometimes I got ashamed when people saw him and asked, ‘is that a boil? What’s the problem? Why is his jaw like this?’. I did get embarrassed.”
The family heard a public service announcement that Global Mercy was coming to Sierra Leone and moved to Freetown in June 2023 to start treament.
Manteneh said: “I didn’t know if it would work, but this was our last chance.”
Emmanuel’s doctors on the Global Mercy planned to remove the growth with maxillofacial surgery, requiring at least two preliminary visits for injections to harden the tissue, making it safer to remove.
After several visits, Emmanuel was ready for surgery and the big day was April 9.
Luckily the surgery was a success – and Emmanuel was discharged a few days later and made new friends to play football with.
Since surgery Emmanuel has healed and lives a pain-free life – unrecognisable from his former self.
Mollie Felder, a volunteer maxillofacial nurse on the Global Mercy, said: “If the mass continued to grow, it could have pressed on more of the surrounding areas, potentially causing problems such as facial nerve compression, which would affect the way he is able to move his face, and even cause facial disfigurement.
“It caused caused emotional strain on his mother, as well as the child, in part due to stigma and discrimination surrounding such visible differences and lack of knowledge as to the cause of these anomalies.
“If he continued to experience social isolation due to his condition, it could affect his development given his young age.”
Another volunteer surgeon, maxillofacial head and neck surgeon Leo Cheng, said: “I’m addicted to the indescribable joy and smiles of patients and parents after their transformative surgery on board.
“And I will keep volunteering for as long as I am able.”
Mum donates 67 inches of hair in charity’s biggest ever donation
A kind-hearted mum-of-four had her hair cut for the first time in six years to donate a record 67 inches of her locks to charity.
Generous Ruth Tripp, 38, gave the longest ever single donation to the The Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for children who have lost their own hair.
She’s not been to the hairdressers once in six years and waited until her hair reached the floor before she braved the chop.
She has set a record for the longest ever hair donation to the charity and is now waiting to hear from Guinness World Records to see if it’s a world record.
The mum-of-four said: “My hair got to the floor and I knew I needed it to come off as it was just going to get damaged.
“I knew it would be harder to look after so I thought it would be better to give it away now, so somebody could actually use it and make the most of it.
“I didn’t think it was that much hair because I’m so used to having long day, I didn’t think it could be a record.
“I had no idea.”
Ruth has always had long hair and decided to start growing it when it was already at the bottom of her back, around six years ago.
She said: “My son was in the neonatal unit when he was born and the charity there who would always go ‘look at your hair.’
“I thought I could cut it off to raise some money.
“But rather than just cutting my hair off, I thought it would be best to donate my hair as well and I found The Little Princess Trust.
“I then thought about how much I would eventually have cut off and just thought I should go for it, so had it all cut off.”
Ruth, of Devon, would wash her locks using normal shampoo and conditioner, but it would take a “few hours” to air dry.
She says that young children would often say she’s got “princess hair” – which made her even more determined to donate her locks.
Ruth said: “People would say ‘it’s not all yours, is it?’ but it is.
“If I took my hair down while I was out, then children would say ‘mummy look at that princess hair’ and they would ask to have hair like that.
“That’s what children want, they want hair like that – so I knew I should give it to someone else.”
Ruth had her hair cut during a family fun day, where she raised money for The Little Princess Trust and Supporting Neonatal Users and Graduates (SNUG).
She then went to The Little Princess Trust’s headquarters in Hereford, where she delivered her hair and saw how the charity make the wigs.
Ruth, an accountant, said: “It was really good, I delivered my hair to them and they were so pleased.
“I saw the place where all the wigs were made and the salon where they fit them on the children – it was really good.
“Instead of posting the hair, I thought I would post it and make sure it got there safe and was delivered safely.
“It’s quite a bit more than what other people donate so I didn’t want it to get lost in the post.”
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, the founder of The Little Princess Trust, said she “never thought” someone would date 67 inches of hair.
She said: “We always encourage our supporters to grow their hair as long as possible to help us make wigs for children with hair loss.
“But I never thought I’d see the day when someone would donate ponytails measuring 67 inches.
“We are so grateful to Ruth for her extraordinary efforts for The Little Princess Trust and the young people who receive our wigs.”
The previous Little Princess Trust record was set in 2023, when an anonymous supporter donated 52 inches of hair.
Visit https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/big-hair-chop or https://www.justgiving.com/page/james-tripp-1723635961995 to donate.
Urban explorers found abandoned Fantastic Four Marvel film set in underground mine
Urban explorers snooped around an abandoned film set they found in a mine – said to have been used in the latest Fantastic Four Marvel movie.
The two friends – who don’t want to be named – entered Middleton mine in the Derbyshire Dales after they spotted the “entrance was open”.
300m underground – and 8km into the tunnels – they say they found a film set, including an American school bus, a stage, and a lift car, on October 18.
The pair claims “two people who helped support the staff and actors” said it was left behind after the filming of a soon-to-be-released Marvel movie, rumoured to be called The Fantastic Four: Blue Moon.
The network of tunnels was also used by Tom Cruise in March for the latest Mission Impossible movie, reports says.
One of the explorers said: “The mine once had huge concrete blocks over the entrance but I was hiking and noticed they’d been removed.
“It was unbelievable – incredible.
“I usually like to find interesting artefacts, but I’ve not found a film set before.
“We were walking along with our torches and we suddenly found this area all built up and an old American bus just sitting there.
“The lighting rigs were there on scaffolding and a map of where they wanted all the lights to be.
“It’s very bizarre to see an elevator car just sitting in the middle of a roadway, and a stage in front of the bus.
“There was all sorts of machinery they had used to set up, and a cabin with a microwave and kettle.
“There were all sorts of pipes they’d used to keep the air clean – there’s a risk of radon gas down there.
“It was quite something to see the film set – it wasn’t what we had expected at all.
“I believe they filmed for Lord of The Rings in there and also Mission Impossible.”
The pair spent four hours checking out both mines.
He said: “Some of the lead mine tunnels are quite scary.”
“I’m a female bricklayer that’s treated like one of the lads – but I’m still girly”
Meet the 20-year-old female bricklayer who says she is “still girly” – but is just as respected as the lads on site.
Sophie Curtis, from South Tyneside started out as an apprentice bricklayer in 2021 and has since been promoted to trainee assistant site manager.
When she first left school, Sophie started an apprenticeship in welding, before discovering her true calling in construction.
She says that she had always wanted a career in something hands on that would beat the stereotypes of what she should do.
Sophie, who works at Bellway’s Clarence Gate development in Bowburn, said: “The reason why I came into the construction industry is that I didn’t want to do a stereotypical woman’s job.
“When I was in school all my friends were thinking about becoming nail techs, hairdressers, beauticians. It all felt like the same stuff, and I wanted to do something different, something that nobody was doing.
“I love my hair and makeup and always get my nails done. I am still very girly. But I have always loved DIY, building my own little things.
“When I did welding, I was the only girl there, so it felt normal to me by the time I got into bricklaying.
“I am used to being around men all the time, so it is very much second nature to me. It was a bit daunting at first but once I got stuck in it was great.
“They treat me the same as the lads. If anything, there is a bit more respect, because they are older they tend to look after me rather than bully me.
“I am the only girl on my site at the moment. But regardless of that I am respected just the same as the other managers.”
In July Sophie was promoted to trainee assistant site manager and she has been working towards her level 4 qualification ever since.
She has won several awards for her construction skills such as the Bellway Apprentice of the Year award and she was a finalist in the Housebuilder Star category of the Housebuilder Awards 2024.
She was also awarded Bricklayer Apprentice of the Year at New College in Durham where she qualified as a Level 2 bricklayer- beating 17 men for the title as the only girl in her class.
Last week she visited the house of commons for the young builder of the year awards where she was the first runner up.
She says that her family and friends were shocked by her career choice, but have been nothing but supportive and cheered her on at her award ceremonies.
During her time with Bellway, she has got involved in its Schools Outreach Programme- visiting schools and colleges to talk about careers in housebuilding.
Sophie says she hopes that her success will inspire young girls to join the construction industry.
She added: “I love it. Never ever do I think ‘oh no I have got to go to work’ because I really enjoy it.
“Being nominated for those awards was very nice. It was lovely.
“I think it is very important that we are getting young people into construction.
“I have got a younger sister and sometimes I get a question off her from one of her friends about how they can get into bricklaying. That’s just nice to know that other young girls know that I am doing what they might want to in later life.
“It is becoming a bit more normalised. I am not saying that it is ever going to be 50/50 but we are getting somewhere now. I am hopeful that more younger girls will join.”
Growing up Sophie, who has an older brother and younger sister, played rugby and had aspirations of joining the Royal Navy.
Sophie’s dad, Ritchie Curtis, says he hadn’t expected his daughter to enter construction – but that he couldn’t be more proud of her.
The 54-year-old HGV driver said: “I was absolutely gob smacked when she said she wanted to be a bricklayer.
“I always thought she would do something practical, but I never thought in a million years she would be in construction.
“I could never see Sophie on a building site, but when she went into it she just dove in head first.
“She has achieved so much in such a short time. She just continues to excel.
“She doesn’t let anything phase her she just grabs the bull by the horns and goes for it.”
Nurse who started healthcare career before the NHS formed finally retires aged 95
A nurse who started her healthcare career before the NHS was even born is finally retiring – aged 95.
Joyce Standring has dedicated her life to helping the sick – working in various nursing roles for the NHS and hospitals in Britain and abroad.
She wanted to be a nurse aged five and when she was eleven and WW2 began she joined the Red Cross as the “first cadet-type young person ever.”
She would go to the hospital every Saturday helping out in the children’s ward.
Joyce began her healthcare career in January 1948 – six months before the NHS was formed.
Since then she has worked as various nursing and medical roles including a midwife, theatre nurse, infection control nurse and senior administration.
Later she began a long stint in volunteering at the NHS Musgrove Park Hospital (MPH) in Taunton in Somerset – clocking up over 30 years there altogether.
She is now standing down from her voluntary role at the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust – at the grand age of 95.
She said she has been “busy” writing my memoirs for her grandchildren – which turned out to be a rather “thick booklet”.
Joyce said: “During the war I went to the local hospital every Saturday to spend time in the children’s ward, where I was a bit of a general dog’s body.
“When I turned 17, I told my parents that I wanted to be a nurse, to which my father laughed as he thought I’d simply faint at the sight of blood.
“Eventually I applied to the former Watford Peace Memorial Hospital and my aunt, who was a matron at Hill End Hospital, had been talking to the matron in Watford and I was accepted for training – a naughty thing to have happened, but I’m very pleased anyway.
“Having gained my S.R.N. qualification I worked on night duty until my parents decided that they were going to emigrate to New Zealand in 1952, where I became a theatre sister, specialising in cardiothoracic surgery, which was very new in those days.”
When she moved back to England she worked for a short time on a medical ward in the Redhill and Hastings hospitals.
Later on she would take on a similar role with the Iraq Petroleum Company – which posted her to a company hospital in Qatar for ex-pats and local employees.
She said: “In Qatar I specialised in low-risk midwifery, although the more complex expatriate employees’ wives were sent back to the UK or USA.
“When the company moved to Bahrain I became a midwife in the government hospital as married women were not employed by the oil company.
“The company then re-located to Abu Dhabi to their newly built residential camp for their developing oilfield, where I was asked by the British Embassy ambassador if I would consider working with the newly appointed director of health to set up a new hospital.
“This ended up with me developing my own clinic – where I treated all the women and children separately from the male patients and doctor – whereas previously the men would go to the doctor and tell them about their wife or daughter’s health needs.
“After returning to the UK in 1972 with the family, I came to MPH, where I joined the education department gaining my RCNT certificate.
“In 1976 we moved to Hemel Hempstead as my husband joined a firm as an oil consultant and I then became an infection control nurse working in a London hospital.
“A nurse working alongside microbiologists, haematologists and other path lab colleagues was a relatively new introduction.
“In 1980 I applied to Somerset Health Authority for a director of nursing services post for the area covering Bridgwater, and the community hospitals from Burnham-on-Sea down to Minehead, and the community nursing services covered those areas as well.
“After that I returned to MPH in the education department again and created several courses for end-of-life care, and a return to nursing, so I was teaching as well.
“Then I went into the senior management side of things, based out of County Hall, where I stayed until I retired.”
It was 30 years ago when Joyce’s “second career” as a volunteer began.
Managers at MPH put a call out for someone to go around and check that all the patient information and leaflets were in date, and from that she reviewed leaflets as they were written by various teams across the hospital.
“It became clear to me that some of the leaflets weren’t written in plain English, which made it difficult for some patients to understand,” Joyce continues.
“My role involved checking this from a member of the public’s perspective, which I did for many years.
“I was very involved with the hospital’s care of older people and infection prevention and control teams.
“I began with the care of older people department even before I became an MPH volunteer, as I also belonged to the Community Health Council, having been proposed by my Soroptimist International club, and was their representative for health and welfare.
“Because I was showing a particular interest in the elderly, the hospital management team invited me to join the care of older people team. Soon after that volunteering became a thing at MPH – so I became one.
“A short while after becoming a volunteer, I joined the infection prevention and control team, so my experience across the hospital was so varied.
“I’ve always found that as volunteers, our opinions, suggestions and offers of help were always listened to, and our values taken into account when discussions were taking place about our patients’/carers’ experience in the hospital.”
Joyce explained how becoming a volunteer in the NHS is the “most rewarding experience”.
“I’ve been a Musgrove Partner for over 30 years and have not regretted one moment,” she concluded.
Karen Holden, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust associate director for clinical transformation, adds: “On behalf of the many colleagues at MPH that Joyce has supported, challenged, inspired, shared ideas and thoughtful insights with, we give enormous thanks.
“Joyce has had such a positive impact in improving patient care over her 30 plus years in the Musgrove Partner role.
“She has been influential in the improvements to the service for our older, frail patients, and across the trust she supported audits, surveys, hand hygiene training (many of us recall the glow box with Joyce), infection control, support in oncology, radiology, care of the dying, chaplaincy, and research to name but a few.
“Her skills with plain English shone through, with reading and editing many patient leaflets and letters, including through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Joyce was able to help shape strategies and policies, ensuring we kept the patient and family experience at the centre of all we did.
“Colleagues have shared how they enjoyed interviewing with Joyce, in awe at her ‘killer questions’ for the candidates.
“We are grateful that right up until the summer Joyce was still involved with supporting our peri-operative service developments.
“With a cheerful, determined, intelligent and practical approach, colleagues have enjoyed and appreciated working with Joyce. We have all learnt so much from our time with her and she will be missed.”
Woman flew to Japan to create a funny Christmas card with a fake family
A woman flew to Japan to create a funny Christmas card with a fake family—and dressed up and played all the characters herself.
Brynn Shuller, 34, has been embodying her made-up family—’the Brynns’—for the last 10 years.
The idea started when Brynn found a costume chest hair and put together her first card—a 90s style photoshoot.
Brynn has since created over 40 photos of her made-up family, including 10 Christmas cards—such as the Brynns skiing, fishing, and in matching pajamas.
This year she even took her family international—picturing them on holiday in Japan.
She sends the cards to family and friends and sells them on Etsy, saying they find it hilarious and “love it.”
Brynn, a graphic designer, from Cincinnati, Ohio, US, said: “It’s funny when I put on the clothes I instantly get into the character.
“It’s so much fun creating the cards and playing the characters.
“I love it.”
Brynn created her first quirky card in October 2015.
She said: “I found a chest hair at the dollar store—the idea sprung on from there.
“After seeing the funny chest hair, I started planning my family.
“Byron, the dad, is awkward and always excited and happy.
“Brynnda, the mom, is always trying to make everyone happy but she is probably aggravated on the inside.
“Brynnie, the daughter, is so young and happy-go-lucky.
“Frank, the teenage son, is an outcast and is always grumpy and never enjoys the family photos.”
Last year, Brynn pictured the family in a park wearing 90s tracksuits, but this year she decided to take them international.
She said: “My friends were asking if I wanted to go to Japan with them.
“I thought ‘OMG, I’ve never taken my family internationally.’
“I decided to take my wigs and costumes.”
Brynn planned out where she wanted to take the photos—choosing the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine in Kyoto and the Nara deer park.
Brynn said: “I thought it would be really funny to have one of the deer biting Frank.
“One of them headbutted me on the bum, and in the card, it is my actual reaction.”
It took Brynn two hours to take the photos at the different locations and around two to three hours to edit it all together.
She is delighted with the results.
Brynn said: “I don’t know how to top myself.”
Brynn says her family finds it hilarious and fans online are always excited for the annual Christmas card.
Brynn doesn’t see herself stopping anytime soon and has already thought of ways she might incorporate a partner or child.
She said: “If I get married, what do I do? I’d have him in it and the fake dad lurking in the background.”
“I’m raising my first three kids as triplets – they were born exactly a year apart”
A mom found out she was pregnant with twins just five months after giving birth—and now she’s raising the children as triplets.
Chancè Hindir-Lane, 30, thought she was suffering from postpartum nausea and irregular periods weeks after giving birth to her oldest son, now five.
But during a postnatal check-up with her obstetrician in June 2020, she was given a routine pregnancy test.
The test came back positive—and an ultrasound revealed she was six weeks pregnant with twins.
Now, four years later, Chancè is raising the siblings as triplets, along with her youngest child, who is two.
She throws them joint birthday parties every year and says they have a “very close bond.”
Chancè, a content creator from Charlotte, North Carolina, said: “I thought I needed to go on birth control—but my doctor said I was pregnant with twins.
“I couldn’t believe I was seeing double—first, you’re telling me I’m pregnant with one baby—now, two.
“We kind of feel like we’re raising them as triplets—my eldest was still breastfeeding when I gave birth to the girls.”
On January 8, 2020, at 2:30 p.m., Chancè gave birth to her oldest child after a long and challenging pregnancy.
He weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces, and the pair stayed in the hospital for five days afterward due to Chancè hemorrhaging after labor.
Six weeks after coming home, the new mom realized she hadn’t started her period—but put this down to her recovery after birth.
“I’ve always struggled with irregular periods, so I didn’t think anything of it,” Chancè said.
“I spoke to my nurse about it, and she told me not to worry.
“She explained how hard it would be to get pregnant just a few weeks after giving birth.”
Chancè says she wasn’t allowed to start birth control at that time—guidelines recommend moms wait at least six weeks before resuming the combined pill or contraceptive patch.
At almost five months postpartum, and with no sign of her period, she discovered she felt sick at the smell of coffee—which she now realizes was a “telltale” sign of pregnancy.
She added: “I’m a heavy coffee drinker, but when I’m pregnant, I can’t stand the smell of it.
“I was on a trip to Quebec in June, and I was standing in Tim Hortons, and I had to leave because I couldn’t stand it.”
Thinking her hormones just needed to settle down, Chancè booked an appointment with her obstetrician shortly after arriving back in the U.S., believing birth control might help.
On June 18, 2020, she was told by her doctor to take a routine urine pregnancy test—something she always had to do during appointments.
But after returning the dipstick test to her obstetrician, she was “shocked” to find out she was pregnant again.
“I was shocked and so scared at how quickly it happened,” Chancè said.
“I thought: ‘How am I going to manage two kids under the age of two?’
“Having my son, I already knew it was quite a lot.”
But Chancè got a further shock when a sonographer gave her a transvaginal ultrasound and found two embryos in her womb.
The mom was sitting “in disbelief” after being told she was pregnant with twins.
Her immediate reaction was to begin planning for the new arrivals—as well as telling her family members.
She said: “As soon as I told my mom, she told me she’d been having dreams about me having twins and prayed on it.
“My sister said the same thing—they felt like I was always going to have twins eventually.”
The twins, now four, were born on January 10, 2021, at 7:40 and 7:42 p.m.—just two days after their brother’s birthday.
They weighed 3 pounds, 13 ounces, and 4 pounds—and needed to stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) for “weeks” afterward.
For the first seven months, Chancè breastfed all three of her children—which helped them to create a “triplet-like” bond.
Their first birthday party was a joint one, with all the family invited.
Chancè says they were a “team of three,” which has since expanded to four with the arrival of their younger brother.
“The twins adjusted really funnily to being older sisters,” she added.
“They kept looking at their baby brother and going: ‘No.’
“But they’re such a little team of four—the bond is so special.”
