A group of identical quadruplets who beat the odds of being born are turning 18 and are about to be separated for the first time.
Doctors told Jose and Julie Carles, from Upper Caldecote, Bedfordshire, that they were more likely to win the lottery than their four babies were to live.
But 18 years later, Ellie, Georgie, Jessica and Holly are happy and healthy as they reach adulthood. The four siblings were born minutes apart on March 23, 2006.
The sisters are planning a low-key meal with their father Jose, 51, and mother Julie, 55, to mark their 18th birthday, and their parents have revealed they all have different plans for the future.
José said: ‘Georgie and Ellie are currently doing their A levels. Georgie was offered a place to study at the University of Creative Arts, but could defer for a year and go traveling with Ellie.
‘Jess and Holly have another year at university. I think they will miss each other but enjoy the freedom. They will always have each other.
Identical quadruplets (LR) Holly, Jess, Georgie and Ellie, who beat the odds, are turning 18 and about to be separated for the first time.
Julie and José underwent an 11-week scan after discovering they were pregnant in September 2005.
They discovered they had quadruplets and that they were monochorionic, meaning the babies depend on a shared placenta.
Julie, regional operations manager, said: “At first the sonographer said they were unlikely to survive.
‘We were traumatized and upset by the situation we found ourselves in. He told us we had a better chance of winning the lottery.
‘Over the weekend we did some research and accepted it, we felt like we had been given a gift. I was a healthy 37 year old person. “We knew we had to keep going.”
Julie was admitted to Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London for follow-up when she turned 23 weeks.
She said: ‘It was very difficult, it was the first time José and I were apart.
Georgie, Holly, Ellie and Jess photographed at just two years old. Doctors told Jose and Julie Carles, from Upper Caldecote, Bedfordshire, that they were more likely to win the lottery than their four babies were to live.
The quartet were born minutes apart on March 23, 2006 (pictured on their third birthday).
The sisters are planning a low-key meal with their father José (pictured right), 51, and mother Julie (pictured left), 55, to mark their 18th birthday, and their parents They have revealed that they all have different plans for the future.
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly Carles were born just a few minutes apart, between 2.16pm and 2.19pm, and weighed 2lb 8oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb and 1lb 9oz respectively ( in the photo of his fifth birthday).
“I was getting bigger and bigger and the pressure on my body was getting more intense.”
The young people caused a sensation when they were born on March 23, 2006, children of Julie and her husband José, with a difference of 64 million to one.
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly Carles arrived within minutes of each other, between 2.16pm and 2.19pm, and weighed 2lb 8oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb and 1lb 9oz respectively.
Julie said: “I had a caesarean section and it felt like it lasted about five minutes in total, it was very quick.” They were taken straight to the NICU for eight weeks. The first days were critical but they took very good care of them.
“As soon as they were out of danger they were moved to Lister Hospital in Stevenage until we could bring them home.”
The day Julie and José were able to take the girls home was “the best day of their lives.” Julie said Georgie was the first to stand up at nine months.
The sisters’ parents revealed the girl’s plans for the future, saying that each one is doing her own thing (pictured at 16 years old)
The sisters, LR Jess, Holly Georgie and Ellie, grew up very close. In the photo at 12 years old
Ellie, Holly, Georgie and Jess will celebrate their 18th birthday on March 23, 2024.
Ellie, Georgie, Jess and Holly are planning a low-key meal with their parents to mark the day.
She said: ‘Once one of them does something the rest would copy, Jess was the last of them to walk and talk.
‘I remember their first day of preschool, they loved it and didn’t worry about me.
“Preschool teachers had to put their initials on their collars so the teachers would confuse them.”
When it was time to start school, Julie and José said they were worried about making new friends since they normally stuck together. But Julie said they “thrived” as they were all placed in different classes.
She said: ‘They were happy to be apart, they branched out and their personalities developed. When they started high school they were placed in pairs, which was not ideal at all.
“That’s the moment when you separate from your family, but that didn’t happen to them while they were together.”
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly will celebrate their 18th birthday on March 23, 2024.
Julie said: ‘Turning 18 makes us very proud. It’s not often that you can remember what you’ve done over the years.
“It’s only when someone points it out that we say, ‘Oh my God,’ what we’ve done is incredible.”
And he added: ‘The girls asked us to go to lunch and then they asked us to take them to a concert.
‘They haven’t really asked for much to be fair, we are going to celebrate the day as a family. We are a united family.