New Hampshire

After Mother's Death in California, Newborn Twins Prepare for Trip to New Home in New Hampshire

Newborn twins in California are preparing for a long trip to their new home in New Hampshire with their dad after their mom died just hours after giving birth.

"She was awesome, a big smile always," Willow Coigny of Pelham said of her brother's late girlfriend, Jamie Snider.

Coigny is printing pictures to make a photo album for Snider's newborn twins, who will never remember meeting their mother.

"She's definitely changed our lives forever," Coigny said.

Coigny's brother, Heath, was living with Snider in Fresno when she got pregnant. She was diagnosed with cancer at the same time. In order to keep her babies safe, she refused treatment for herself.

"It's just crazy," Coigny said. "She was really selfless."

Camila and Niko were born premature, but healthy. Twenty-four hours after giving birth, Snider went into cardiac arrest and doctors couldn't save her.

"Her body just couldn't take it," Coigny said.

Now, Heath a single dad of twins, is planning to move back home to New England with his sister and her kids.

"He's pretty devastated and overwhelmed," Coigny said. "The thing that makes it alright is I am excited to have little babies in my house, excited to be a part of their life every day."

And every day, Coigny and her brother promise to keep Snider's legacy alive through the lessons she's left behind.

"Life is really short and precious and family is everything," Coigny said.

The twins are still only about 3.5 pounds each, so before they can make the cross-country trip home to Pelham, they'll need weeks, maybe even months, to grow stronger.

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