Conjoined twins celebrate 10th birthday against the odds
Source: Agencies |
August 8, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
REACHING that first double-digit age of 10 is a milestone for any child, but for these Guatemalan twins born conjoined at the head, it is cause for joyous celebration - they have repeatedly defied the odds against survival.
The girls, Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej--Alvarez, garnered international attention when they were separated in 2002 in a 23-hour operation that riveted the world as it unfolded at Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.
On Saturday, the sisters, known as Josie and Teresita, celebrated their 10th birthday at a private home in Malibu, Los Angeles, with a party complete with bouncy castle and a steel-drum band.
Guests at the Hawaiian-themed bash included many members of the 50-man surgical team, as well as two dozen of the girls' school chums. Hula dancers adorned two birthday cakes.
"It is a miracle," said Jenny Hull, an executive board member of Mending Kids International, the organization that arranged the US$1.5 million surgery and has financed much of their care through donations.
Also among the guests was Mel Gibson, a long-time supporter of Mending Kids who has known the sisters for most of their lives. The actor walked with the girls up a hill to the party, laughing with Josie and blowing bubbles with Teresita.
"It is good to be here. It is good to see the twins," Gibson told reporters.
Dr Henry Kawamoto, who led the plastic-surgery team, said there was little in medical texts a decade ago about separating head-conjoined twins. He and neurosurgeon Dr Jorge Lazareff outlined their own procedure.
"It went off like we planned it," said Kawamoto. "That was really such a great feeling."
The operation, however, lasted longer than the 15 hours Kawamoto anticipated. Equalizing the girls' vital signs under anesthesia was tricky, he said.
After months of recovery, the sisters returned to Guatemala, but several months later Teresita contracted meningitis.
They returned to the US to be near sophisticated medical care, and they now live with two host families in Los Angeles. Their parents remain in their rural village in Guatemala and visit the girls several times a year. They speak to them every week.
Josie attends a public elementary school where she is entering fourth grade. She is gregarious and loves singing, drawing and performing with her synchronized swimming team. "She is quite a fish," said Hull.
She has suffered delayed motor skills in her legs, however. With intensive physical therapy, she walks aided by a cane and a walker, but expects eventually to be fully ambulatory, according to Hull.
At Saturday's party, Josie went straight for the pool, where she frolicked with her friends.
Teresita's bout with meningitis left her unable to speak, but she expresses herself through humming and laughing. She enjoys art, music and computers at school and loves swimming and horse-riding.
The twins see each other several times a week. "They love being together," Hull said. "They totally have that twin connection. Josie always talks to Teresita and she will hum back. She will tell her something funny and Teresita will laugh."
Lazareff said the sisters have thrived. "It speaks to the wonderful care of the people around them," he said.
The girls, Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej--Alvarez, garnered international attention when they were separated in 2002 in a 23-hour operation that riveted the world as it unfolded at Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.
On Saturday, the sisters, known as Josie and Teresita, celebrated their 10th birthday at a private home in Malibu, Los Angeles, with a party complete with bouncy castle and a steel-drum band.
Guests at the Hawaiian-themed bash included many members of the 50-man surgical team, as well as two dozen of the girls' school chums. Hula dancers adorned two birthday cakes.
"It is a miracle," said Jenny Hull, an executive board member of Mending Kids International, the organization that arranged the US$1.5 million surgery and has financed much of their care through donations.
Also among the guests was Mel Gibson, a long-time supporter of Mending Kids who has known the sisters for most of their lives. The actor walked with the girls up a hill to the party, laughing with Josie and blowing bubbles with Teresita.
"It is good to be here. It is good to see the twins," Gibson told reporters.
Dr Henry Kawamoto, who led the plastic-surgery team, said there was little in medical texts a decade ago about separating head-conjoined twins. He and neurosurgeon Dr Jorge Lazareff outlined their own procedure.
"It went off like we planned it," said Kawamoto. "That was really such a great feeling."
The operation, however, lasted longer than the 15 hours Kawamoto anticipated. Equalizing the girls' vital signs under anesthesia was tricky, he said.
After months of recovery, the sisters returned to Guatemala, but several months later Teresita contracted meningitis.
They returned to the US to be near sophisticated medical care, and they now live with two host families in Los Angeles. Their parents remain in their rural village in Guatemala and visit the girls several times a year. They speak to them every week.
Josie attends a public elementary school where she is entering fourth grade. She is gregarious and loves singing, drawing and performing with her synchronized swimming team. "She is quite a fish," said Hull.
She has suffered delayed motor skills in her legs, however. With intensive physical therapy, she walks aided by a cane and a walker, but expects eventually to be fully ambulatory, according to Hull.
At Saturday's party, Josie went straight for the pool, where she frolicked with her friends.
Teresita's bout with meningitis left her unable to speak, but she expresses herself through humming and laughing. She enjoys art, music and computers at school and loves swimming and horse-riding.
The twins see each other several times a week. "They love being together," Hull said. "They totally have that twin connection. Josie always talks to Teresita and she will hum back. She will tell her something funny and Teresita will laugh."
Lazareff said the sisters have thrived. "It speaks to the wonderful care of the people around them," he said.
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