WARRACKNABEAL'S Mason and Finley Roche have already faced more than their fair share of adversity in their short lives.
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Born prematurely at 29 weeks, the twins won their fight for survival.
Eighteen months later they have a new challenge - cerebral palsy.
Keshia and Peter Roche know their sons face an uphill battle, but know they will meet it head-on.
Mrs Roche said the boys never complained.
"They are very happy little boys - and very cheeky," she said.
Mason and Finley were born in Brisbane and delivered early after developing twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
"It was an extremely stressful pregnancy," Mrs Roche said.
"We were told from 13 weeks on there were a few complications.
"They said we were at a very, very high risk of twin-to-twin transfusion."
Mrs Roche said she was on edge for the entire pregnancy.
"I went from a normal scan on a Friday afternoon to developing stage three by my next ultrasound on the Tuesday," she said.
"It was ridiculously stressful.
"There was a huge sense of relief when they were born, even when they were born so early, because you could see what was happening to them then.
"When you're pregnant, you just don't know."
The boys spent almost two months in neo-natal intensive care and special care.
About a week after they were given the okay to go home, the Army sent Mr Roche to the Phillipines.
"It was not long after the tsunami," Mrs Roche said.
"It was a pretty busy time for me - two newborns and a two-year-old.
"It became too hard, so he got out of the Army."
Mr and Mrs Roche decided to move back to Warracknabeal.
"This is home for both of us," Mrs Roche said.
"Both my family and all of Peter's family live here.
"We've got an amazing family and community support system, which is wonderful."
Mason and Finley were formally diagnosed with cerebral palsy in January.
"When they were still in hospital, we were told there was a fairly high chance they would have some kind of disability, but no one could really tell us what was going to happen," Mrs Roche said.
"The messages basically aren't getting sent from the brain to the muscles, the way ours do, so their development is affected.
"They can both roll around. Finley, the little one, has started to develop a commando crawl. But they are unable to sit up or stand, because of muscle tone and poor trunk control."
"It's been really overwhelming, all the support for our little men"
- Keshia Roche
Mrs Roche said everything was a waiting game.
"We've been told if they can sit up independently by the age of two, they have a pretty good chance of walking with an aid of some sort," she said.
"If we were to walk from home to the main street, we'd perhaps need a motorised chair or something down the track.
"They are progressing slowly, but it's really hard because no one can say what is going to happen."
The boys will have ankle-foot orthotics fitted in April to help them learn to stand.
"At the moment they can't push up to stand and if they do stand, they're on their tippy-toes," Mrs Roche said.
"They're also having Botox injections into their legs to loosen up their muscles.
"It helps them to sit and stand, especially Finley. Because he has spasicity, or stiffness, he can't straighten his legs."
Mrs Roche said one of her friends had set up an online fundraising campaign to help the boys.
"We'd like to purchase special needs equipment for the boys so they can reach their milestones," she said.
"For example, we would like to get them a standing frame to give them the opportunity to see the world from a different angle - at the moment, they see most things laying on the ground."
Mrs Roche said her family had received a significant amount of support.
"The My Cause Team Roche page has more than $8000 in online donations," she said.
"We've had some people donate some really generous amounts and leave us lovely messages - and I don't know who they are.
"An exercise session at the Lions park raised more than $800, there was a sausage sizzle that made $300 and they are in the process of putting together a raffle with some fantastic prizes.
"I've had calls from Rotary and the Apex Club - it's been really overwhelming, all the support for our little men."
Amidst all the generosity and well-wishes every day life must go on in the Roche household.
Mr Roche works full time with CHS group, Mrs Roche works casually as a nurse and the boys have a myriad of ongoing appointments.
"We have physio weekly in Horsham, we attend the physiotherapy and rehabilitation clinic in Ballarat and we have eye specialists in Melbourne," she said.
"They keep us pretty busy, but we have help. And Makenzie is a very good big sister."
Mrs Roche said time would tell whether the cerebral palsy affected the boys intellectually.
"They do have a couple of words and they are becoming more vocal - they are chatting a lot more," she said.
"The paediatrician says some kids with cerebral palsy have motor development issues, but they are so intelligent.
"It's too hard to tell at this stage."
Mrs Roche said not knowing was the hardest part.
"It's all wait and see," she said.
"But we will give them every opportunity to do their best.
"The sky's the limit for the boys, we think."
- Mrs Roche said people could visit Team Roche - A Brighter Future to follow Mason and Finley's journey. She said information about fundraising opportunities and updates about the boys' progress were available on the page.