Dying twin 'holds' sister's hand in touching pic

An expectant mother in Kansas will hold on to a touching, yet heartbreaking sonogram image of her unborn twins, after doctors told her one of them would not survive after birth. 

During a visit to get a six-week sonogram, Brittani and Ian McIntire were told one of the twins, a boy, had a hole in his heart and an abnormal brain and that he wasn't growing like he should. 

"He's only weighing nine ounces, and his sister is over two pounds," Brittani said. "His only chance of survival would be heart surgery, but they wouldn't do heart surgery on him because of his brain," she added, according to WZVN-TV.

After weeks of bad news, the couple went again on Tuesday, and that's when doctors were able to capture the touching image via sonogram. 

The sonogram appears to show Mason, the name given to the boy by the couple, on the left side of the image. Mason appears to be wrapping his very tiny hand around the growing finger of his sister, Madilyn. 

"Most twins when she's trying to take pictures and stuff, they're kicking each other and hitting each other, and she [the ultrasound technician] said with our twins, it seems like she was very protective over him," Brittani McIntire said.

McIntire said the image comforts her, as she knows her unborn son won't be alone.   

"It's just nice with everything going on I know I'm holding him, I'm carrying him," Brittani said. "She's the only one who can actually be there and holding onto him through it, and so it's comforting to know that if he does pass he won't be alone."

"We know we have a piece of them together that will last forever and it's special to have," Ian McIntire said.