When it comes to their will to live, the fabled Delaney twins never fail to astound. Prior to the dreadful year of 2016, Heather and Riley Delaney of North Carolina wouldn’t have given the meaning of “craniopagus” much thought.
The young parents had to skip buying their two children excellent newborn attire in order to fly to clinics where they could get treatment and have a chance at survival.
Erin and Abby, their first two kids, were born with their heads fused together, or craniopagus. Conjoined twin separation is not without hazards, but it is typically successful.
On the other hand, the Delaney babies’ fused skull bones hindered the girls’ brains from developing correctly in the womb. Both daughters were delivered by cesarean section 10 weeks early.
Parents had to decide between sending their infants for potentially fatal separation procedures or spending their limited time with them. When their kid was 11 months old, Erin and Abby were divorced when Delaney tried his luck at gaming.
One of the girls wouldn’t live, according to the medical professionals. Disentangling bones from brains is still a monumental task, but it is not insurmountable.
Neurosurgeons claim that merely a millimeter of movement to the right or left can render a youngster permanently unable. One of the infants struggled more than the other, as the physicians had anticipated.
It was either Abby’s life or her death. The girls had to spend a full week recovering after the doctors were able to save her and take them out of their induced comas. Shortly after Erin regained consciousness, Abby did too.
In the five years since they were split up, Erin and Abby have grown up, but they still “fight” with their bodies.