A mum has been left heartbroken after her 'one in 10million' baby daughter - one of quadruplets and identical twins - died just six months after being born.
When mum Ashley Ness, 36, first heard she was pregnant, she was shocked, having just gone into hospital to renew her birth control prescription.
Shock turned to disbelief when she was told she was having quadruplets - including two sets of identical twins.
Ahmet Baschat, director of the Center for Fetal Therapy and a professor in the Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, described the chance of having two sets of identical twins as a rarity of "like one in 10million".
The four babies were born 12 weeks early on July 28 2022. Young Chesley had struggled ever since.
As partner Val Bettencourt looked after the couple's other three children, Ashley would take their three babies to hospital to see Chesley.
After fighting for six months, the little girl died on February 22, leaving the family devastated.
She was born weighing one pound seven ounces, and needed several surgeries during her short life.
Ashley told People: "My beautiful daughter, Chesley May, was called home to Heaven after a courageous six months of life.
"Her passing leaves a huge emptiness in the hearts of all of us; her parents, her siblings, her family, and the NICU team at Mass General hospital."
She added: "We will forever miss her laughing face, her funny little air leak sounds, and the sparkle in her big beautiful eyes. We are so proud of her and know that she is at peace."
Baby Chesley had been diagnosed with severe chronic lung disease, and because of her delicate health, Ashley only got the chance to hold her five times.
The twin-quad phenomenon occurs when two eggs are fertilised at the same time, and each of them then divide.
Ashley took a break from her work as a hairstylist when she got pregnant. They currently live in a three-bedroom home in Taunton, Massachusetts, US, along with shley's daughter Chanel, 9, and Val's two youngest sons, 11-year-old Isaiah and Zayden, 8.
For now, the three babies are in their parents' bedroom, but Val and Ashley hope to extend the home.
A fundraiser has been launched to help the two raise some money to help support their now surprisingly large family.
