While most consider the birth of a child to be a significant blessing and twins a rare but extraordinary gift, that wasn’t how some internet trolls reacted to the photos and videos one mom shared of her two lovely babies. Instead of admiring the adorable little girls, their comments were downright ugly.
Like nearly every new mom, Savannah Combs believed her twin daughters were special, and they were. Residing in Middleburg, Florida, Mckenli and Kennadi Ackerman were not only twins, but they were also identical. However, there was something else that made them even more “exceedingly rare.” The girls were literally “1 (or rather, 2) in a million,” TODAY declared in a headline about the exceptional babies.
So, what was it that made them so special? Both twins were born with Down syndrome, a rare phenomenon to say the least, as Dr. Pamela Trapane, medical director of Wolfson Children’s Hospital’s Duran Genetics Center in Jacksonville, Florida, explained. “For every 1,000 twin pregnancies, around two will have at least one baby with Down syndrome,” Trapane told TODAY. “However, the chance prior to a pregnancy that the pregnancy will be twins and that both twins will have Down syndrome is around one in 1 to 5 million.”
Unfortunately, not everyone had a favorable reaction to the news that Savannah was carrying the exceedingly rare twins. Initially, the girls’ father, Justin Ackerman, who was in boot camp when Savannah found out about the twins’ Down syndrome, was “very emotional” about the diagnosis. Making matters worse, doctors advised Savannah to “terminate the pregnancy due to the low survival chances of the twins,” according to Thought Nova.
However, the determined mom chose hope and said she treasured each prenatal appointment as a blessing. “Every [prenatal] appointment they were alive was a blessing to me,” the 23-year-old mom admitted, and her feelings didn’t change when the twins were born prematurely on May 12, 2021—two months before their due date—which resulted in about a six-week stay in the NICU at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Of course, the first-time mom was concerned about her daughters’ health and well-being as she and Justin grappled with mixed emotions, but overall, Savannah was “just happy they were here,” she explained. Although she was aware of the judgments she might face due to her daughters’ disability and potential health problems, Savannah didn’t hesitate to share photos and videos of her daughters on TikTok, just like other moms.
“It’s very rare what they have, but they’ve been my little gems,” the proud mom said of her babies. “They’re called mono di twins, meaning that they had their own sacs, but they shared the same placenta, meaning that they were going to be identical. Mo di twins as it is, it’s like very rare. And, then, you throw Down syndrome on top of it, it’s like one in 2 million.”
Much to Savannah’s surprise, Mckenli and Kennadi quickly garnered significant popularity online, leading the mom to recognize the immense value her daughters brought to the world in the way they inspired others. Unfortunately, Savannah would once again have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone had a positive reaction to the girls. In fact, some internet trolls got downright ugly with their comments.
“I wouldn’t want those babies; if mine came out like that, they would be straight up for adoption,” one harsh, unsupportive commenter shockingly admitted, to which Savannah said she gave an assertive response: “I said, good thing they weren’t born to you and were born to me. God knew what he was doing by giving these babies to the right parents who would love them regardless.”
At 8 months old, Savannah revealed that the twins, who attended physical and occupational therapy twice a week and were just about to start crawling, were “hitting milestones like no other.” Despite having Down syndrome, Savannah stressed that her daughters were just like any other person. They could talk, have beating hearts, and feel emotions. What’s more, the mom emphasized that her daughters were capable of doing anything other kids could do—it might just take them a little longer.
“Like I said, it may be a step behind, but they’re going to do it. I’ve learned these kids are feisty little things and happy little things,” Savannah explained. As for the impression some people have that kids with Down syndrome are always happy, Savannah said don’t count on it, explaining that while Kennadi is indeed a “ray of sunshine,” Mckenli is the opposite. “She’s a total diva,” the mom admitted, proving each girl has her own unique personality—just like anyone else.
