Twins bring on smiles

By Kelly Yates
THE miracle of birth has helped a family re-build their lives after losing everything in the Narre Warren South fires on Black Saturday.
Carol Miszkowiec and her husband Andy say they are thrilled with the birth of their twin grandchildren Jayden and Sienna who were born at 4.08am and 4.09am last Thursday.
Ms Miszkowiec said she discovered her daughter Melissa and partner Brett Parhan were expecting twins when they began moving into a rental property in Narre Warren South shortly after the fires on Saturday 7 February.
“We were feeling pretty down when we were moving into the house as we didn’t have any furniture,” she said.
“Hearing the news about the twins gave us a lift on the day. It gave us hope and something to look forward to.”
Recalling the events of Black Saturday, Ms Miszkowiec said she remembered running out of her house after seeing images of the local fires on the news.
“We saw smoke and thought it was coming from next door. Then we realised our back room was on fire,” she said.
“Our grandson was playing in that room so I grabbed him and bolted.”
The Miszkowiec family went back to Langbourne Drive later that night to find their home had burnt to the ground.
“It took seven minutes for our whole house to burn down,” Ms Miszkowiec said.
The 47-year-old said the birth of her new grandchildren brought back memories of the recent fires.
“We lost everything, even the tiny arm bands that we kept from our children when they were born and every baby photo,” she said.
“It’s those things that are irreplaceable. And it makes us treasure the memories we have with these twins.”
The Miszkowiec family recently sold the block of land along Langbourne Drive.
“I don’t want to live there again. It scares me. I just can’t go back there,” Ms Miszkowiec said.