WHEN miracle twins Jaiden and Hannah Rhodes start school in a couple of weeks, it will be a day to cherish.
Mum Junelle’s wedding ring hung like a bracelet around their wrists when they came into the world almost six years ago.
Born at just 25 weeks at the Mercy Hospital, the twins weighed less than 800g each and were given a 40 per cent chance of survival.
Doctors warned that even if the tiny twosome pulled through, there was then an 80 per cent chance they would be severely disabled.
The bubbly pair have their problems, but not enough to stop them from starting prep on February 4.
Ms Rhodes said she and husband Nathan, who live near Frankston, never thought they would see the day they would wave their babies off to school. 
“They were so tiny when they were born, there was never a time that we were sure they would survive when they were in hospital,” she said.
“Even when Hannah left the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for a ward, she stopped breathing and was taken straight back.
“They always went back and forth between scares.”
Mr Rhodes said flipping through the family photo album of the twins’ first months felt surreal now that he was dressing them in their new school uniforms.
“I looked through the album not long ago and I just thought, ‘My God. How did we get two beautiful children who are pretty normal out of this?’ ” he asked.
Jaiden proudly showed off his baby photos yesterday.
“That’s me! I weighed like a big packet of cereal!” he said.
The Rhodes were not even sure the twins could attend a mainstream school because of medical problems from their extremely premature arrival.
The twins were in hospital for almost five months after they were born, and Jaiden was on oxygen for a further six months at home.
Both have chronic lung disease, and Hannah underwent heart surgery to close a valve when she was only days old.
She cannot speak loudly because of a paralysed left vocal chord, and Jaiden tires easily because of low muscle tone.
Their condition could have been much worse if not for quick-thinking doctors who managed to avert delivery when Ms Rhodes went into labor at just 21 weeks.
Dr Nick Lolatgis pushed the twins back in and sewed a single stitch to keep them there for another month.
Despite their hurdles, the twins don’t let anything hold them back.
They spent summer camping at the beach, riding bikes and painting pictures, and couldn’t wait for school because they would see friends they made at kindergarten.
“I’m going to invite them to my birthday party. It’s going to be a pony party, when I turn six,” Hannah said.
Jaiden said he would have a Transformers party.
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