In 2016, two girls, Abby and Erin, were born in North Carolina. These were no ordinary twins. Their heads were connected. To deal with this, even the medical community was afraid. However, they were born. Moreover, they survived.
The diagnosis was communicated to their mother, Ann Delaney, as early as the eleventh week of their pregnancy. The doctors, frankly, recommended abortion.
Even if it was a short time, there will be serious problems later. But Ann didn’t want to.
At 27 weeks, she was sent to the hospital in an effort to carry the pregnancy to term. But about 30 weeks, issues started to arise, and the doctors were compelled to do an emergency cesarean section.
Little, newborn, and helpless, the girls were welded together.
Just 2% of these newborns survive delivery and may be candidates for separation surgery, so the girls had a chance, the experts said.
That may seem incredible, but Abby and Erin were in that 2%. The experts decided that after months of testing, meetings, and observation, the technique could move forward. However, the risks were enormous.
Following that, Ann signed the consent form, regardless of the outcome. It was important to try to give each daughter her own destiny.
About a year after their birth, on June 6, 2017, the surgery began. Eleven hours went by. Erin was separated first as she had an easier bond.
Together with Abby, the doctors fought for each and every blood vessel and tissue millimeter. The girls survived.
After five months, Erin and Abby returned home. The process of rehabilitation began.
Today marks seven years since that catastrophic operation. Both Abby and Erin are still alive. They’re growing. It wasn’t all roses and sunshine, though. The girls were found to have intellectual disabilities.
They like smiling and playing with other children despite their inability to speak. They are socialized despite the diagnoses.
Erin learnt to walk when she was five years old. Abby can only stand while holding her mother’s hands because she is now unable to move on her own. The family is hopeful that Abby will take her first step gradually.
