Doctors didn’t expect Shylah and Selah Oglesby to live. In fact, doctors believed the conjoined twins’ chances of dying were around 75 to 95 percent, leaving a small window for survival.
Shylah and Selah were conjoined at the stomach. Although they had two separate hearts, they shared a liver. Their parents, Misty and Curtis Oglesby, agreed to allow the baby girls to undergo an invasive surgery to separate them.
Physicians at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center spent three months creating a strategy to separate the little ones. Finally, the six hour surgery was a success. Shylah and Selah were separated, but Selah still struggled with a congenital heart defect that required several surgeries.
Two years later, and the toddlers are happy, healthy babies. Both their parents and doctors are stunned at their development.
“They are my miracles,” said Misty. “I am in awe of their progress.”
Their second birthday is a huge milestone for the girls. It’s their first birthday where they can truly enjoy themselves without being bound by health limitations.
“Today feels like their first birthday,” says their mom. “Their first birthday in which they’ll be able to eat cake. The first birthday where they’re mobile and able to get around and open presents.”
Doctors credit Misty and Curtis for providing their daughters with an incredible support system. Doctors can give you an outlook, a percentage, a few statistics, but Shylah and Selah show that it is up to each of us to beat the odds.
Video Credit: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center / Facebook
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