My one-in-a-million twin baby boys have two different fathers

Amother’s fling has resulted in her bearing twins – by different fathers.

Eleven-month-old Justin and Jordan Washington may have arrived in the world within just seven minutes of each other, but in an amazing twist of fate, they are half brothers.

Each has a different dad because their mother Mia Washington, had an affair and conceived two babies by different men at the same time.


The bizarre double conception happened when Mia cheated on her partner James Harrison with another man.

One of the boys is James's son, but the other is fathered by another man, whose identity has not been released.

After learning about her infidelity, James agreed to forgive Mia and raise both twins as his own.

Mia, from Dallas, Texas, said: 'I have twins who have different dads.


'Out of all the people in America and all the people in the world, this had to happen to me.'

The truth came out when Mia visited Clear Diagnostics DNA Lab after noticing the twins have different facial features.

A paternity test confirmed her fears - it showed there was only a 0.001 chance that Justin and Jordan have the same father.

Authorities say the result is so rare that there are only a handful of known cases across the globe.

'It's very crazy, most people don't believe it can happen but it really can,' said Genny Thibodeaux, from Clear Diagnostics DNA Lab.

According to doctors, if a woman has more than one sexual partner while she is ovulating, there's a miniscule chance that different sperm cells can fertilise two separate eggs.

Dr Chris Dreiling, from the Paediatric Association of Dallas, told Fox News: 'Because sperm cells take a while to travel and eggs take a while to travel there can be an overlap.'

The couple is now coping with the aftermath of the DNA bombshell and plan to tell the twins when they're old enough to understand.

Mia added: 'When they opened the envelope and delivered the news they told me there was zero chance that James was Justin's father.


'My jaw dropped open.

'It was the weirdest thing to think that two little babies could have grown in my stomach together and been born seven minutes apart but yet have different fathers.

'I had never heard of it happening anywhere else in the world and literally had thought it would have been impossible.

'James said he would stay because he loved me and raise both of the twins as his own.

'I felt very wary at first, I kept thinking he'd try but then find out he couldn't cope with it and leave us after all.

'But everyday I'm thankful because the DNA result hasn't changed the way we are as a family. James is a good man; he's a great father and genuinely loves both of the twins.

'When they are old enough to know the truth about their different fathers I will tell them. Right now they are so young they don't know anything and they don't need to know.

'As far as I'm concerned, James is the father of both boys because he's the one there every morning when they get up and every night when they go to sleep.

'Some people may not agree with what I've done in the past but I have accepted my mistake and taken responsibility for it.

'If when he is older Justin wants to meet his real dad then that's his decision.

'Everyone around us has been shocked by the miracle of them having been conceived separately but born together.

'It's hard for me to wrap my head around it but those are the facts.

'Five months ago we found out that I was pregnant again and our new baby is due to arrive in the autumn.

'Right now I'm fully committed to taking care of my family and making sure their needs are met. I can guarantee there'll be no questions raised this time around!

'I'd advise other women to be careful about starting an affair - look what happened to me. Think hard about the consequences first, because the most bizarre things can happen when you least expect it!'

James said: 'It's a day by day thing.

'It's going to take time to build up trust between us like we had. Mia immediately came clean about her mistake and says she takes full responsibility for her actions.'

Dhananka Happy With SC Ruling, But Will File For More Compensation

Nineteen years ago, Prashant S Dhananka was a hale and hearty third-year engineering student. He rode 50 km on his scooter the day before he underwent an operation. Unfortunately, after the surgery in October 1990, he was confined to a wheelchair. And riding is history now.

Ever since, life has changed completely for Prashant. He could not complete his studies and at the prime of his life, spent three years in various hospitals. Today, having fought all odds as a victim of medical negligence and a prolonged legal battle, Prashant hit the headlines when the Supreme Court pulled up the hospital and ordered Rs 1 crore as compensation. Perhaps, the highest ever awarded by the SC.

At his home, off Bannerghatta Road behind IIM-B, Prashant was a celebrity on Friday and was flooded with congratulatory calls. He works as senior manager in Infosys.

It all started in 1990 after a diagnostic surgery, when he spent seven months at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad. Doctors, without the family's consent, removed the tumour and cut off blood supply to the spinal cord. "30% of the time I was in ICU and at every post-operative stage, it was a blunder. It was totally badly managed care,'' Prashant says.

He recalls his past. "I used to get a fever on and off. Initially, I ignored it. But once I was suffered from prolonged fever, I was diagnosed with tumour in the thoracic cavity. I was referred to NIMS. It was a diagnostic surgery which ended up paralyzing me waist down.''

Since then, it was a long-drawn battle for the family. Sixteen years ago, he filed a case against the hospital for medical negligence.

"I am happy with the verdict, though it came late. This judgment is the first of its kind, which I am sure will give hope to many patients. It's the point for change in the legal system and doctors will be made more accountable.''

But Prashant is not really happy with the compensation. "For 19 years, if I take into account my additional spending, apart from what was forced on me, and loss of savings, it comes close to Rs 1 crore. So I had claimed Rs 7 crore.''

Prashant's father M R Seshadri says he plans to give a review petition on the compensation. "We are happy with the Supreme Court judgment but not with the compensation. We had given a detailed account of the expenditure incurred by us all these years. In a couple of days, we will go through the judgment and try to find the gap between our requirement and the compensation they have given. After going through the record, we will submit a review petition,'' says Seshadri.

Seshadri said Rs 1 crore is a small amount and does not suffice. Prashant earns a good salary but a major chunk goes for the payment of his treatment, attendant, driver and medical expenses. Hence, he cannot make any savings.

From the time Prashant gets up from bed, he needs an attendant -- to make him sit, to turn him, put him to sleep, take him outside. He needs two attendants and a driver to take him to office.

On a wheelchair, crippled for life, Prashant's story definitely is a classic example of a person fighting a powerful system where every blunder gets morphed with money.

Supreme Court awards Rs 1 crore compensation in medical negligence case

The Supreme Court has awarded a massive compensation of Rs 1 crore to a software engineer who suffered permanent disability due to medical negligence at a government-owned hospital in Andhra Pradesh.

A bench of Justices B N Agrawal, G S Singhwi and H S Bedi enhanced the compensation to Rs one crore from Rs 15 lakh which was awarded by the Andhra Pradesh High Court to Prashant S Bhanaka, the software engineer.

The victim suffered permanent disability in the form of paralysis and other complications, rendering him incapable of all normal chores after undergoing a surgery in Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences.

US confirms 141 swine flu cases in 19 states

US health officials on Friday said the number of confirmed cases of swine flu had risen to 141, spread across 19 states.

Delaware with four cases, Illinois (3), Kentucky (1) and Virginia with two cases were all added to the list drawn up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Only one person has so far died from catching the H1N1 flu virus: a Mexican toddler who was visiting relatives in Texas.

The numbers of infected people have been relatively stable in the first states to confirm cases, with New York having the highest tally of 50 which has remained the same for several days.

Texas has 28 cases, two more than recorded today, while in California, the numbers of infected people dropped by one to 13.

South Carolina however had overtaken California today as the third worst affected state with 16 cases now confirmed, up from 10 today.

States with confirmed cases of swine flu: Arizona (4), California (13), Colorado (2), Delaware (4), Illinois (3), Indiana (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Nebraska (1), Nevada (1), New Jersey (5), New York (50), Ohio (1), South Carolina (16), Texas (28) and Virginia (2).

Developments on swine flu worldwide

Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and government officials:

Deaths: 15 confirmed in Mexico and one confirmed in U.S., a toddler from Mexico who died in Texas.

Confirmed sickened worldwide, 564: 343 in Mexico; 146 in U.S.; 35 in Canada; 13 in Spain; 10 in Britain; four each in Germany and New Zealand; two each in Israel and France; one each in Switzerland, Austria, China, Denmark and the Netherlands. Mexico is no longer releasing "suspected" numbers; the number of suspected cases was 2,498 before the tally was halted.

A Mexican tourist visiting Hong Kong becomes Asia's first confirmed case. About 300 people were quarantined at a hotel where the tourists stayed.

U.S. confirmed sickened, by state: 50 in New York; 28 in Texas; 18 in California; 16 in South Carolina; five in New Jersey; four each in Arizona and Delaware; three each in Indiana and Illinois; two each in Kansas, Colorado, Virginia, Michigan and Massachusetts; and one each in Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska and Nevada.

Continental Airlines, the biggest U.S. carrier to Mexico, says it will reduce flights to the country by about 40 percent and use smaller planes but will continue flying to all 29 Mexican cities it serves.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the latest swine flu virus lacks genes that made the 1918 pandemic strain so deadly.

About 400 schools close nationwide, with about 300 in Texas, 62 in Alabama, plus scattered closings in New York, California, South Carolina, Connecticut, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Washington state, Michigan, Maine, Maryland, Tennessee and Nebraska.

The World Health Organization increases its tally of confirmed swine flu cases around the world to 331 Friday from 257 Thursday. By country: Mexico 156; U.S. 109; Canada 34; Spain 13; United Kingdom 8; Germany 3; New Zealand 3; Israel 2; Austria 1; Switzerland 1; Netherlands 1.

Mexico's chief epidemiologist accuses the World Health Organization of being slow to respond to the country's warning. Dr. Miguel Angel Lezana said his center told a regional branch of WHO about a spike in illnesses April 16 but no action was taken until eight days later.

The World Health Organization says it will stop using the term "swine flu" to avoid confusion over the danger posed by pigs. It will instead refer to the virus by its scientific name, "H1N1 influenza A."

President Barack Obama, attending a Cabinet meeting devoted to the issue, says he's "optimistic that we're going to be able to manage this effectively."

Public health emergency declared in U.S.; millions of doses of Tamiflu from federal stockpile being delivered to states; U.S. buying more anti-flu drugs to replenish stockpile. CDC also shipping test kits to state labs so states can do their own testing.

Scattered cancellations or postponements of sporting events in U.S., including all high school sports competitions in Texas and Alabama state track and field championships. Also canceled: Fort Worth's annual Mayfest, which usually attracts 200,000 people over four days.

Is the world staring at the worst health crisis in 90 years?

This could be the worst health crisis facing the world in 90 years. With the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday raising its alert level to phase five for swine flu
— just one step short of seeing a full-blown pandemic affecting at least two regions of the world — health experts were fearing a situation similar to the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed at least 50 million people. That's because H1N1 (the swine flu virus) is the closest so far to the Spanish Flu virus.

While that kind of mortality is ruled out now, given the advance of medical science and the quick spread of information and awareness in today's world, WHO was taking no chances as it now knows that the disease can spread easily between humans and hence raised the alert which is read as a signal that a pandemic is imminent. The Avian Flu (also known as bird flu) had an alert which was two notches lower, which means the danger this time is much higher.

Worldwide, at least 13 countries have confirmed cases of swine flu. Switzerland became the fifth European country to report a case of the disease in a 19-year-old student, and the Netherlands soon after became the sixth, reporting a case of the virus in a three-year-old who had recently returned from Mexico. Britain, Germany, France and Austria are the other European countries where authorities have begun a campaign urging people to sneeze into tissues and wash their hands after that. The campaign was called, ``Catch it, bin it, kill it.'' The disease has also spread to Costa Rica and Peru.

Raising the alert — the second in three days — WHO's director general Dr Margaret Chan asked all countries to activate pandemic flu plans and called on them to be on high alert for a H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Describing Influenza viruses
as notorious for their rapid mutation and unpredictable behaviour, Dr Chan said, ``Influenza pandemics must be dealt with seriously and precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world. New diseases are, by definition, poorly understood. WHO and health authorities in affected countries will not have all the answers immediately, but we will get them.''

According to Dr Chan, at this stage, effective and essential measures include heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases, and infection control in all health facilities. ``This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and to the pharmaceutical industry that actions should now be undertaken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace,'' Dr Chan added.

Preparedness measures undertaken because of the threat from H5N1 avian influenza were an investment, and we are now benefiting from it, said experts. According to WHO, the biggest question, right now, is how severe will the pandemic be, especially now at the start? Dr Chan says it is possible that the full clinical spectrum of this disease goes from mild illness to severe disease.

``From past experience, we know that influenza may cause mild disease in affluent countries, but more severe disease, with higher mortality, in developing countries. This is an opportunity for global solidarity. After all, it really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic,'' Dr Chan said.

Justifying raising the pandemic alert to phase five, WHO's assistant director-general Keiji Fukuda said in a global teleconference on Thursday night, ``Phase 5 indicates the spread of the virus among communities, normal people who haven't visited Mexico or come in contact with travellers.''

WHO has been tracking the spread of the virus at the epidemiological, clinical and virological levels.

Dr Fukuda said, ``We found sustained human to human transmission in multiple generations. When we looked at the virus in Mexico and US, we found that it was beginning to behave like a human virus and was becoming part of our community and not just being spread by travellers. This therefore made us increase the pandemic threat.''

He added, ``Pandemic phases aren't intended to be a barometer of epidemiology
of the virus but a clear warning and alert that the risk of the virus to reach your country is now significantly high.''