Miracle school start for twins Sunny and Vivian Jones

A rare disease could have seen Sunny live a very different life from twin sister Vivian. But two miracle transplants later and the twins are set to start school together at Eltham East.

Identical twins Sunny and Vivian Jones haven’t ­always looked alike and for most of their short lives they would not have been able to swap school uniforms.

Vivian has been taller and heavier than her sister, an ever-present reminder of what Sunny otherwise should have been.

Crisscross scars across Sunny’s belly tell a story of two liver transplants and a rare disease diagnosed at just 10 weeks old.

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But in new school ­uniforms, which their ­mother, Minako, has struggled to get her girls to take off, this week the pair will look the same as any other children in the prep playground at ­Eltham East Primary, and Sunny will look just the same as her sister.

From left: Jasmine, 2, mum Minako, Vivian, Sunny and dad Trent. Picture: Jason Edwards

“They are really excited about starting on Wednesday. They couldn’t stop wearing their uniforms,” Mrs Jones said.

“I told them, ‘You are going to get it dirty’.”

Despite the possibility of having to wash new uniforms before school even starts, Mrs Jones said “every moment is unbelievable”.

There’s still the hospital visits once a month and medication four times a day.

“But we really couldn’t see the future like this, I’m just happy to get to this point and treat Sunny like a normal kid,” she said.

Sunny, right, was diagnosed with biliary atresia as a baby and had two liver transplants.

Sunny in hospital.

The twins will be among 82,000 Prep students starting school from tomorrow, with holidays ending for 992,400 children across the state.

At just ten 10 weeks old, doctors at the Royal Children’s Hospital found Sunny was suffering from biliary atresia, where her liver didn’t properly drain bile, causing it to fail.

“It was like a science experiment,” dad Trent said.

“Here was the healthy twin and then ... they’re not really identical anymore.”

Sunny and Vivian Jones at hospital. Picture: Supplied

As they grew old enough to walk, Vivian stood almost a head taller than her sister.

Sunny’s skin and eyes had a tinge of yellow and her appetite was poor.

And as they neared their third birthday, Sunny was deteriorating.

She had a surgery called the Kasai procedure where her bowel was attached to her liver to try and give some drainage.

But the surgery didn’t work and Sunny was put on the waiting list for a new liver.

Sunny received a transplant, but her body did not accept the organ, and then she received a second donation that brought her back to health.

Two years later, the little girl has grown to the same size as her sister.

“Actually, she’s 3kg heavier,” Mr Jones said.

“She’s a little gobble guts.”

No doubt making up for lost time.

Right now, 1433 Australians are waiting for an organ transplant.

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