Twins Eva and Erica Sandoval spent most of their childhood in hospital due to a very rare disease. The children are not just twins, but conjoined twins.
Being conjoined twins is a rare condition with a low survival rate, and it’s a miracle that the girls survived the condition. After a long operation in 2016 and numerous physiotherapy sessions, the girls are now separated and happy.
Eva and Erica share the most precious bond a pair of siblings can have. In August, the sisters celebrated their sixth birthday.
The twins remained together until they were two years old because it would be deadly to separate them from birth. As a result, the sisters have spent most of their lives in hospital, according to their Facebook page. The twins finally celebrated their birthdays separately when they each turned three.
When Eva and Erica’s parents found out about the birth of the conjoined twins, they were devastated and prepared for the worst. These twins are extremely rare and have a low chance of survival.
. Nearly half of all conjoined twins are stillborn and more die within a day.
ABC News reports that shortly after the twins were born, their parents went to see a renowned surgeon at Lucile Packard Stanford Children’s Hospital in California. Dr. Gary Hartman has performed six conjoined twin separations in his career and it’s safe to say he was more than qualified to handle their problem.
Dr. Hartman warned parents of the possible risks of the operation before taking the plunge. He argued that even if the separation is successful, the twins’ quality of life may suffer.
The twins were born in 2014 and spent the first seven months of their lives in a hospital, according to the Sacramento Bee. At the age of two, their health began to deteriorate and they had to undergo surgery to survive. This operation was long: it lasted until 5 p.m.
The girls were sent home three months after the operation and then attended physiotherapy sessions. Since they were so weak that they could not walk on their own, they needed wheelchairs. Following the operation, the two children were left with one leg each and they were fitted with prostheses.
Children are now going to kindergarten and are used to using walkers and prosthetics to get around, according to staff at Stanford Children’s Hospital. Doctors want the girls to use canes instead of walkers for support and balance in the future.
Their mother says Erica is already used to her prosthetic leg. Since their stay in the hospital, the children have come a long way towards recovery.
Looking at them now, you can’t tell they had any health issues. Like any child, they love playing with Barbie dolls, finger puppets and kinetic sand. Their mother claims that they are also very talkative and already have a lot of long words in their arsenal.
The twins love looking at photos of themselves taken as babies. Because they don’t remember what it was like to be merged, they wonder what could have happened to them. Thanks to physiotherapy and the supervision of doctors, the twins will have a long and happy life.
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