Celina Jaitly visits the grave of her late son, shares heartfelt note about losing him: ‘I wished I could save him… but I couldn’t’

Celina Jaitly went on to recount the harrowing journey that unfolded during her twin pregnancy in 2017, revealing that the family had been grappling with immense grief and uncertainty from the very start. “Had lost my dad in my 6th month of #twinpregnancy & we were still reeling from the fact that Arthur’s twin brother Shamsher had been diagnosed with a hypoplastic heart,” she shared.

The diagnosis came during a routine scan in Dubai, conducted by the same doctor who had previously monitored her older twins, Winston and Viraaj. “It was the same doctor who had done the foetal scan for Winston and Viraaj, always jolly in Dubai. During Arthur & Shamsher’s scan he suddenly went silent for 20 mins, then asked us to return the next day with a colleague present. The following day his smile was gone, the mood sombre…”

The doctors confirmed that one of the twins was suffering from Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS,  a rare and severe congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped. “We were informed that one of the twins had #hypoplasticleftheartsyndrome (HLHS), a rare #congenital heart condition where the left side of the #heart doesn’t develop properly, making it unable to pump blood as it should.”

Also Read | Celina Jaitly opens up about ‘almost’ losing twins to an ‘itch’: ‘Both my pregnancies were overwhelming’

Despite consulting top specialists across Dubai, the UK, and India, there was nothing medically that could be done to improve the baby’s chances of survival before birth. “The most difficult part of this diagnosis was not being able to do anything while I was pregnant to help my baby. We went to the best doctors in Dubai, they referred us to London, we went to the UK, we went to India… & yet there was nothing that could be done. We endured the pregnancy in pain & prayer, hoping for a miracle. I wished there were medicines I could take, I wished there was a surgery I could go through, but there was nothing… & the chance of survival was very low.”

Celina Jaitly shared how carefully she had prepared for this pregnancy, taking every precaution possible. “I had prepared for this #pregnancy 2 years in advance. I worked out, I detoxed my body, I took every vitamin prescribed so my body would be ready. God blessed us with #twinboys again… & yet the outcome was nothing like what I had prepared for, not even in the wildest of my dreams.”

Yet through the grief, she found moments of gratitude. “I am however so grateful that God did not leave us empty-handed.” Today, Arthur is growing up surrounded by love, but Celina says his bond with his late twin remains felt — and missed. “I often think what life would have been had Shamsher survived. Seeing the older twins’ camaraderie, I feel Arthur misses that deeply.” In closing, the actor reflected on how such challenges impact families forever, but also bring out extraordinary resilience. “Congenital challenges change families forever, but they also reveal unimaginable strength. Every story of survival or loss is a reminder of how deep a parent’s love runs.”

Celina Jaitly made her Bollywood debut with Feroz Khan’s Janasheen in 2003 and went on to star in popular films like No Entry and Golmaal Returns. In 2011, she married Austrian hotelier Peter Haag. The couple is blessed with two sets of twins, Winston and Viraaj, born in 2012, and Arthur and Shamsher, born in 2017. Tragically, Shamsher passed away shortly after birth due to complications from HLHS.

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