Their parents, Erin and Jake, were overjoyed when their two beloved daughters finally came into the world.

At the same time, that day changed their lives forever, placing them before an incredibly difficult decision.

Kendra Deene Herrin and Maliyah Mae Herrin were born on February 26, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The sisters were conjoined twins. They shared a colon, bladder, liver and one kidney.

Kendra and Maliyah were joined at the abdomen and pelvis. They shared several internal organs and one pair of legs.

Erin and Jake knew that separating their two daughters would be extremely risky.

At first, doctors also told them that the girls were missing essential organs needed to survive outside Erin’s womb.

So even before their birth, doctors were uncertain whether they would make it through their first few weeks of life.

During the pregnancy, Erin was advised to consider ending the pregnancy.

“One doctor told us we should end the pregnancy because the twin pregnancy was so complicated. But I saw my daughters’ faces up close during an MRI and fell in love with them instantly,” Erin said.

Their future was uncertain; the only thing that seemed certain was that Kendra and Maliyah would eventually face serious health challenges.

As the girls grew older, Erin and Jake had to face a life-changing dilemma: should they allow their daughters to remain joined together or move forward with an extremely complex separation procedure?

A successful operation could give them a greater chance of reaching adulthood, but it also carried the possibility of losing one or both daughters.

The biggest medical challenge Kendra and Maliyah faced was their shared kidney.

According to statistics, only 75% of separation procedures result in at least one of the conjoined twins surviving.

However, Kendra and Maliyah Herrin continued to overcome challenges throughout their lives.

After extensive testing and evaluation, doctors determined that any separation procedure would mean Kendra would keep the shared kidney, while Maliyah would need a kidney transplant.

However, kidney transplantation is generally not possible for newborns. Kendra and Maliyah would have to wait until they were four years old before undergoing the procedure if doctors decided to move forward.

After much consideration, Erin and Jake agreed to the operation. All that remained was waiting until their daughters were old enough.

On August 7, six experienced surgeons came together to perform the procedure separating Kendra and Maliyah.

Thankfully, both girls survived the lengthy and challenging treatment.

Once the girls’ condition was considered stable, Jake and Erin shared their story with the public.

“Everything is going well, just as we had hoped and prayed. Our prayers have been answered,” Jake said.

“Our daughters have shown so much courage that we never imagined four-year-old children could have so much strength,” Erin added.

Kendra and Maliyah became the first conjoined twins to undergo a separation involving a shared kidney.

Although the procedure was successful, the two girls still faced a long rehabilitation journey. For example, their wound dressings had to be changed three times a week.

Changing the dressings and removing the old ones for each sister could take up to two hours. After the procedure, the girls each had only one leg and had to learn how to move around from the beginning.

In addition, Maliyah required specialized care and needed dialysis three times a week.

However, it did not take long for people to realize that the sisters’ remarkable separation story was truly extraordinary.

When Erin learned that Maliyah needed a kidney transplant, she did not hesitate for a moment.

Although Erin could be a kidney donor, there was no guarantee that Maliyah’s body would accept the new organ. But that is exactly what happened!

Even though each sister had only one leg, the Herrin sisters remained grateful to their parents for making the difficult choice to pursue the separation procedure.

While Kendra and Maliyah could now enjoy their new lives as two separate individuals, they remained incredibly close.

“The girls were so happy to finally be apart, but sometimes I still see them playing together, moving around the house on crutches, holding onto each other as if they were still joined,” Erin said.

Sadly, Maliyah’s body eventually began rejecting the kidney her mother had donated. She received her first kidney transplant at age 5, so the kidney functioned for 10 years before her body began to reject it.

Of course, this was heartbreaking news for the Herrin family, but once again, they showed their strength and positive spirit.

In April, the Herrin family shared important news — they had found an anonymous organ donor!

Maliyah’s new kidney was recently tested for antibodies, and there were no signs of rejection! No antibodies were trying to attack it, so everyone hoped that things would go well this time!

Today, Maliyah and Erin are no longer in the recovery process.

These two remarkable women celebrated their 20th birthday together. One month later, Maliyah graduated from vocational school, and her dream is to work in computer graphics!

Despite every challenge, Kendra and Maliyah have grown into strong young women, helped in large part by their positive attitude. From learning to crawl as children, to getting through a highly complex separation procedure, to learning how to walk afterward, these two sisters have continually shown their determination!

They are truly remarkable young women! Their parents can be incredibly proud of them for becoming an inspiration to so many people!

Source: pl.newsner.com