A pair of conjoined twin boys were successfully separated at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas, Texas, last Saturday, after enduring a six-hour surgery.
When Owen and Emmett Ezell were born on July 17, they were connected at the chest and belly, and they shared a liver and intestines. And even though they are still in intensive care and have a long road ahead of them as far as recovery goes, their dad reports that they are doing well and are starting to "open their little eyes" and "wiggle their little fingers." (OMG. Doesn't the vision of them moving like that take your breath away?)
And now he and his wife are thinking about the day they will finally get to bring their precious twins home -- as two individual little miracles.
Wow. It's tough to try and imagine what their parents have been going through over the past few weeks and what they had to come to terms with during the pregnancy when they learned their baby boys were conjoined.
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And wait until you read some of the entries on their blog, The Ezell Twins, that their mom set up to help keep family and friends informed on their progress. It offers so much more insight into how emotionally exhausting their journey has been. One post in particular really struck a chord with me. On August 27, the day before the twins' surgery, their mom talks about how she wasn't able to be with them when they had their central lines placed in the operating room -- because she had to attend a meet and greet with her older son Ethan's first grade teacher. She describes how upset she was that she couldn't be there for all of her children on the same day, which absolutely broke my heart.
Oftentimes when we hear stories similar to the Ezell family's, we forget that they are just regular moms and dads trying to get through their days as normally as possible. It's easy to forget that they still have to be present for their other kids.
I will definitely be thinking about this family and praying that their strength continues through the coming months, which are bound to be just as challenging. But it's so wonderful to know that the surgery was a success, and with any hope, these two beautiful little boys will wind up living normal, happy, and healthy lives.
What well wishes would you send to the Ezells?
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