In August 2017, a real miracle happened in a remote African village. For a period of 37 weeks, a resident of the Republic of the Congo gave birth Siamese twins, fused in the abdomen. Anik and Destin not only survived the birth but also survived the 15-hour drive through the wild jungle to be separated.
Anik and Destin were born with a rare condition that occurs in 1 in 200,000 Siamese twins. Not only were they spliced in the navel area, but the babies were also divided into two and some internal organs.
By the way, the girls were born naturally, without the intervention of surgeons. Given the standard of living of the inhabitants of the village of Muzombo, and the lack of specialized hospitals and qualified doctors there, it is generally incomprehensible how the little ones managed to survive. And this is another miracle! After all, approximately 50% of Siamese twins do not live to give birth at all or are born dead, and another 25% die in the first months.
Realizing that the girls needed medical attention, their parents decided to take the little ones to the nearest hospital. True, the word nearest does not really fit here, because the clinic was located in the city of Vanga. And this is at least 15 hours of driving through the dangerous jungle and impassable roads from the village of Muzombo.
But the family had no choice. Claudine Muquena and Zeiko Munzadi wrapped their newborn babies Anik and Destin in a blanket, got on their motorcycle and hit the road.
The girls survived the 15-hour “epic” journey. But everything was in vain, because the local hospital did not have the necessary equipment (and surgeons) to carry out such a complex separation operation. Therefore, it was decided to send the babies to another clinic, which was located in the capital of Kinshasa. And this is another 480 km.
Fortunately, the clinic management managed to find a helicopter, on which the girls traveled the rest of the way so that they could receive the necessary medical care.
In total, the newborn twins had to travel 1,400 km (through the treacherous jungle and through the air) to reach the hospital, where they were operated on by a team of surgeons.
The girls were successfully operated on and now they are already at home in their village. But doctors are still watching them. “We did everything that depended on us. And to be honest, this was the first operation in the Republic of the Congo to separate Siamese twins, after which the children survived. These little ones are incredibly lucky! And except as a miracle, this story cannot be called in any way, ”said Dr. Mooji.
