Mary Slaman
TTTS Foundation
Mary Slaman is the Founder and President of The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation. She graduated with honors achieving both a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management.
In 1989, Mary was diagnosed with twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) 18 weeks into her pregnancy. Due to negligent medical care, she was never offered any treatment. Her doctors knew of laser surgery that could have been done on the placenta to save her son, but they never told her about it. She would have been the second mother in the world to have the surgery. Her little baby Steven passed away at 26 weeks. After four episodes of preterm labor and weeks in the hospital, she delivered them both at 36 weeks. When her identical twins Matthew and Steven were born on December 7, 1989, Mary held them both in her arms and made a promise to them that they would be known and remembered, and that she would find the answers. Little Matthew survived and continues to help his mother with The TTTS Foundation to this day.
Her promise to her twins is her life’s conviction and the reason The TTTS Foundation was created. With God’s direction and support, The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation has been fighting TTTS now for over 26 years, directly helping close to 20,000 parents from across the world, and many hundreds of thousands more from their website.
Through episodes of depression, grief, and loss, Mary continues to dedicate her life to trying to make it better for the next diagnosed mother than it was for her. TTTS is a powerful disease, but it is not stronger than a mother’s love, and especially not stronger than a mother’s promise to her sons. Helping others was, and is, the best way she has helped herself through her personal struggles, and to bring all her children with her through her life.
Episodes for this expert
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What Is Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS)?
If you have mo-di twins, you may have already heard by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. It’s a complication that can happen during any twin pregnancy in which the babies share a placenta. How are pregnancies diagnosed with this condition? How can it impact your twins? And what options do you have to hopefully remedy the situation and keep your babies in utero for as long as possible?
