Why these twin sisters are sharing everything — including this pregnancy
Identical twins Dawn Ardolino Policastro and Allison Ardolino Dinkelacker from Mineola, New York, have been there for each other since birth. They’re now married with children — Dawn with two boys, Allison with one — and live just three blocks away from each other. “Allison is shyer, I am more outgoing,” Dawn told Patch. “We have always said I have been her spokesperson. I do most of the talking for both of us.”
Dawn remained there, steady and supportive, when Allison was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer when she was 30 weeks pregnant with her first child in 2009.
“When Allison was diagnosed at such a young age and at a time in her life when she was the happiest, it was simply devastating,” Dawn told Patch.
A week later, she was able to deliver her healthy son through an emergency C-section. However, tragically, the cancer was brought on by hormones, meaning she could never be pregnant again. But once again, she had her twin sister there. Dawn had accompanied Allison to many of her doctor’s appointments, and she was there when the doctor told her she wouldn’t be able to have any more children herself. And Dawn didn’t even hesitate.
“Well, before he even finished his sentence, Dawn jumped in and said, ‘It doesn’t matter because I am going to carry their child,’” Allison wrote in a message to her sister Facebook post.
Dawn carried her sister’s baby, all the while keeping the sex a secret from Allison. (How she could keep a secret like that, we will never know.) Oh, and Allison Rose Photography took beautiful pictures of the twins together that completely made our hearts burst.
The photographs, originally posted on July 28, have been liked over 75,000 times and shared almost 15,000 times. “I am so honored to be able to share this amazing story of sisterhood, friendship, love and miracles,” the photographer wrote on her Facebook page. “. . . Dawn generously offered to be their gestational carrier. Her selfless act of love and devotion has finally made their dreams come true!”
One week ago, on August 5, Dawn gave birth to a healthy baby. . . boy! His name is Hudson William Dinkelacker, and yes, this means that both twins have two baby boys, too.
“How can we begin to thank you for the tremendous generosity and sacrifice you have so willingly bestowed these last few months?” Allison wrote to Dawn in a message on the photographer’s Facebook page. “You have given us not just the fulfillment of a wish we’ve had for the last six years, but a whole new life, and a family of four we thought we’d never have.”
Oh, and part of the photoshoot involved this:
YEP. Not only did Dawn carry her sister’s child, but SOMEHOW was able to get through this photoshoot without screaming out the sex of her nephew-to-be in excitement. Seriously, willpower of steel. . . and the love only a sister can have.
“I have said this before, but I have to say it again. Dawn, you amaze me!” Allison continued in her post. “You are my hero and I have never been more proud of you. You deserve a medal of courage, of compassion, and of selflessness. . . We cannot thank you enough for the gift you have given us. Although biologically this child will be made up of the two of us, we certainly hope that the strength, selflessness, and power you have shown are traits that he takes from you during his life.”
Tears. All of the tears. We love this story so much. Allison has had to struggle through more than anyone should ever have to, but she’s got her sister there forever… and now, Hudson, her brand new baby son.
(Images via Twitter and Facebook.)
