Marieme and Ndeye, two conjoined twins who were not expected to survive beyond a few days after birth, are celebrating their seventh birthday in Cardiff, where they attend a mainstream school with their classmates. The sisters share one pair of legs and one pelvis but each has a spinal cord and a heart, and rely on each other to survive. Suffering from a rare condition that strikes one in every 500,000 live births in the UK, most conjoined twins do not survive to birth, and of those that do, around half are stillborn, with a further third dying within 24 hours.
Marieme and Ndeye owe their survival to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where they were taken when they were one year old. Their father, Ibrahima, had called around the world “begging” for help, but it was Great Ormond Street Hospital that provided the answer, even though it involved moving the family to Wales. Tests showed that only Ndeye could survive an operation to separate the twins. However, Ibrahima decided against the procedure, believing it would be “killing one of my children for another.”
The twins have two distinct personalities, with Marieme quiet and introverted but Ndeye fiercely independent. They are now trying to stand and walk on their own, achieving approximately 20 minutes each day with the help of a standing frame. Their father said, “when you’re told from the beginning there is no future, you live for the present. How long? I don’t want to know. We’re going to make every day a surprise and celebrate life.”
Mariame and Ndeye’s attendance at a mainstream school in south Wales with their friends brings joy not only to their family but also to the doctors who have cared for them in their battle for survival. Although the girls are constantly monitored and require round-the-clock care, they have achieved a new milestone that nobody thought they would, and their father is immensely grateful for the dedicated help he receives from a network of carers, medical professionals, and school staff
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