A pair of twin girls who were conjoined and shared a liver at birth are now resting together at home nearly three months after they underwent a successful separation surgery.
JamieLynn and AmieLynn Finley, daughters to Amanda Arciniega and James Finley, were recently discharged fromCook Children’s Medical Center, where they recovered from an intense operation in January, the hospital announced in a press release.
The twins, who were born in October 2022,made historyin January as the first conjoined twins to be separated at the hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.
Amie required additional care in the neonatal intensive care unit while she recovered from a separate chest surgery, per the release.
“It’s definitely a weight lifted,” Arciniega said in a statement. “I’m excited and happy, it’s a lot of emotions.”
Courtesy of Cook Children’s Medical Center
January’s separation operation took 11 hours to complete, according to a previous press release from Cook Children’s Medical Center.
The hospital said more than a dozen medical professionals — including four pediatric surgeons, three anesthesiologists and two plastic surgeons, one for each girl — assisted during the procedure.
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JamieLynn, two older siblings and a cousin joined her parents on April 7 as they brought Amie home for the first time, according to the hospital.
The twins now reportedly share a room at their home in Fort Worth.
WFAA
However, the family still has “a long way to go,” Arciniega said.
Amie — “the quiet twin compared to feisty JamieLynn,” according to the hospital — developed scoliosis due to a tendency to lean away from her twin sister when they were conjoined at the chest.
Both girls require additional rehabilitation following the separation surgery “to help them reach their full potential,” their medical team said.
TheEECU Community Foundationhas started a special fund for the Finley twins.
“Caring for the twins will be complex,” the nonprofit says on the fund’s website, “and your donations will support not only the twin’s needs, but also the rest of the family.”
source: people.com
