Earlier this month, surrounded by more than 40 family members, two-year-old sisters Erika and Eva Sandoval emerged from a 17-hour operation, which took around 50 medical staff to perform – one that was set to change their lives forever.
Prior to the surgery, Eva and Erika, who are from Antelope, California in the U.S., were conjoined at the chest, facing each other, and shared a bladder, a third leg, liver, as well as parts of their digestive tract.
And now, almost two weeks since their surgery, the sweet girls have been brought together once again.
Their reaction? The kind of feel-good vibes any parent would dream of.
The twins’ mother, Aida Sandoval, picked up Erika, who was wrapped tightly in blankets, and then proceeded to place her next to Eva in her bed.
Eva reached out into her sister’s blankets, pulling out a red car – and the girls just then just continued to stare into each other’s eyes.
Mrs Sandoval then took to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford’s Facebook page to express her joy.
It was such a thrill for us to see the girls next to one another again,” she wrote.
As reported by TODAY, both children are said to be doing well, with Meghna Patel, the doctor caring for Erika in the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit saying that “they have had no significant complications”.
“Day by day they’re getting better,” says Alison Chiang, who is the pediatric resident in the PICU caring for Eva.
“They’re happier and more playful and interactive with their family.”
Talk about a Christmas miracle!
