For Fiona and Stephen Organ, the birth of twin girls in June was a mixture of emotions – tinged with happiness and despair – as their first-born Jessica was completely healthy but sister Sophie suffered breathing difficulties and lung problems.

It was later discovered that Sophie had suffered a rare condition called congenital lobel emphysema (CLE) – a disorder of lung development that led to her being transferred from the James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston, in the first few hours of her life to spend more than four weeks in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

There a 'very, very poorly' Sophie underwent four chest drains and was 48 hours away from having an operation that could have seen 15pc of her lung removed.

The Carlton Colville couple, after a harrowing month spent at the hospital, were eventually able to bring their children home as Sophie bravely battled through against the odds – and the twins are now just over five months old.

So yesterday, to thank medical teams who helped save Sophie's life, her parents organised a Christmas fair.

They said they wanted to 'give something back' to two charities – the Sick Children's Trust and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Addenbrooke's.

The fair at the Carlton Community Centre – organised a week before both twins are christened – attracted a good turnout, with 25 stalls selling festive and children's items. There was also a special raffle at the event with �700 worth of prizes, all specially donated to the cause.

Mrs Organ, who had to stay at the James Paget for five days with baby Jessica while she recovered from a caesarean section, meaning her husband was at the Cambridge hospital with Sophie, said: 'There were lots of holes in Sophie's lung. She was very, very poorly.

'It was hard not being with her for those first few days, and having not even held her, as I had to rely on phone calls and little updates from my husband who was often in tears as she was so ill.'

Mrs Organ was eventually able to cuddle Sophie after eight days. 'Just seeing her like that was awful,' Mrs Organ said. 'She could not feed, so fluids were given to her through the vein and she did not get any milk until she was three weeks old.

'It should've been the happiest times of our lives, but those first four weeks were the worst,' Mrs Organ said.

But thanks to the support of staff, doctors and nurses at Addenbrooke's, where Mr and Mrs Organ stayed for more than four weeks, Sophie pulled through.

'Sophie and Jess are our little miracles – all the staff at Addenbrooke's were brilliant and had it not been for them Sophie would not have survived,' Mrs Organ said.

'The condition affects four children every year, and three of those will be boys, so it is extremely rare.'

mark.boggis@archant.co.uk