Miracle Babies

 

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the birth of conjoined twins is rare.  Approximately 40-60 percent arrive stillborn. Thirty-five percent survive only one day. The Center estimates the overall survival rate is between 5 and 25 percent.

“I remember thinking, this is not your call,” Torres said, with tears in her eyes. “I remember thinking, we are nobody to take a life, especially three unborn babies. This is God’s will. I refused to listen to the doctors, even though they warned me my own life was also at risk.”
Since Torres, a Catholic, refused to abort her children, doctors sent her to Corpus Christi, where she spent the next five-months admitted at Bay Area Medical Center. When the babies were born, they were immediately transferred to Driscoll Children’s Hospital.

“From the very beginning, I had faith that God would bring us through this,” she said. “Once they were born, I was prepared to accept God’s will, even if that meant God wanted these children back. It would have been heartbreaking and I cried so much, because I am human, but I was prepared to accept God’s will and decision.”

Torres, who is now a single mother, is also mother to three-year-old Raul. The triplets, Scarlett, Ximena and Catalina were born on May 16, 2015. Catalina was born without any complications. Scarlett and Ximena were born conjoined at the pelvis and shared a colon and bladder. 
 

Driscoll Children’s Hospital physicians Angelina Bhandari, Jane Lyon, Vanessa Dimas, Karl Maher, Omar Cruz-Diaz and Miguel DeLeon say goodbye to former conjoined twins Scarlett and Ximena Hernandez-Torres, who left the hospital on May 18, five weeks after their separation surgery April 15.    Contributed photo

Soon after their arrival at Driscoll, a team of doctors, surgeons and nurses who cared for the conjoined twins, immediately began to assess how to separate the girls with a landmark surgery that had never been performed at the hospital before. They spent months studying the girls before deciding on how to approach the complex separation surgery. They held bi-weekly meetings so that surgeons could review x-rays together. Each surgeon shared their game plan for their part of the surgery. 

Dr. Kevin S. Hopkins, craniomaxillofacial, plastic and re-constructive surgeon at Driscoll Children’s Hospital said CT scans were done of the twins so doctors could visualize what they needed to do during surgery. 

"Using 3-D models made to the exact specifications of the twins was useful for orthopedics, for all the surgeons, so we could see where we needed to make cuts. Just to be able to visualize it with the model was a great help,” Dr. Hopkins said.

Dr. Hopkins, who was born and raised a Catholic, said his faith in God played a huge role in his caring for the conjoined twins.

“I always pray before every surgery, but I think I prayed more than one time for these kids,” he said. “Having the community and people from around the world praying for us meant a lot. You could sense a positive force that helped guide us.”

Dr. Haroon Patel, pediatric surgeon and team leader at Driscoll Children’s Hospital said most surgeons in this country would never come across a case like this in their lifetime. He said the odds of a triplet birth involving conjoined twins is 1 in 50 million.

“I’m a person of faith. I’m Muslim, but just because we don’t all subscribe to the same faith, we all believe in something. I believe these conjoined twins were designed for a purpose. I don’t believe there was a flaw in the design, but from my faith, I believe for whatever reason, God determined these kids should be put here, in this form,” Dr. Patel explained.

He said there were many different ways the twins’ story could have played out, not all of them positive.

“I firmly believe their fate was in God’s hands. As doctors, we are given the know-how and ability to take care of them, but their fate ultimately sits in another super-being’s hands. We fix things and God heals them,” he said.
 

Father Chris Becerra from nearby St. Patrick Parish baptizes Scarlett and Ximena, before their surgery.  Contributed photo

Before the operation was performed, the family asked that the twins be baptized. Father Chris Becerra came over from nearby St. Patrick Parish to administer the sacrament. 

The historic 12-hour surgical procedure to separate the conjoined-twins performed on April 15 prompted worldwide publicity and prayers. The surgery was deemed a success and the twins were released from the hospital one-month later. 

The twins are seen at the hospital almost daily for doctor’s appointments, physical therapy sessions and other medical appointments.

Torres is thankful to the support not only from the South Texas community, but also from people around the world. Gifts have been dropped off and mailed to the Ronald McDonald House—which has been the family’s home throughout the ordeal—for the girls, including handmade blankets, clothing, toys and even special Catholic medallions blessed by Pope Francis.

“God has sent me a lot of angels, from the doctors, surgeons, nurses who care for the girls, to everyone who has prayed for them around the world. People love them and I truly appreciate all the love, support and prayers. I think the fighting spirit of the girls have given us all a reminder to never give up,” Torres said.

She has already been thinking about the future and goals for her family.

“Eventually, I would like to become an Army nurse. Thanks to the daily medical needs of Scarlett and Ximena, I’m getting hands-on training for a career in the medical field,” she said with a smile. “I might as well make it official!”

Scarlett and Ximena will both need surgeries in the future. Today, they both have feeding and colostomy bags. Eventually, doctors hope to remove the bags, as they grow older. 
Just one month after being released from the hospital, one of the girls had a major milestone: eating applesauce from a spoon. Torres said she is thankful for the milestones, however small.

Michelle Horine, executive director at the Ronald McDonald House, is also Godmother to one of the triplets. The entire staff at the House as well as other families staying there lent their support to Torres during the weeks leading up to the surgery, as well as afterwards.

“While we were in the waiting room during the surgery, I was as nervous as if it was one of my own children,” Horine said. “The hospital did a great job of giving the family an isolated area to wait during the surgery. Before the surgery started, we all gathered in prayer with the hospital chaplain. Every hour on the hour the doctors came and gave us updates. They started at 8:30 a.m. and by 11:30 a.m. Scarlett and Ximena were already separated.”

Horine said it was a day she will remember in great detail for the rest of her life. 

“It was a family effort, between the hospital, the staff and families at the Ronald McDonald House. This experience changed my faith for the better. I want to give these girls a role model of a life dedicated to Christ,” Horine said.

Today, Torres said her faith in God is helping her through the tough days. 

“I’ve learned to live life to its fullest, everyday. And everyday I give thanks to God for seeing Ximena and Scarlett through their grueling surgery,” she said, stumbling and speaking through her tears. “Someday I hope my daughters will walk. Right now, the doctors are not sure they will walk. If not, that’s OK. I will be here for them every single day, for the rest of my life. But I just have to remind myself God has the final say.”