“Medical triumph”: Conjoined twin survivor gives birth
Charity Lincoln Gutierrez-Vazquez, who was born attached to her twin sister from breastbone to pelvis, has had a “full circle” moment with the birth of her own child in the same hospital.
Charity and her sister Kathleen were separated by a team of nearly 30 doctors, nurses, and support staff in 2000, making national headlines when they were just seven months old.
Now, she has returned to the University of Washington Medical Centre in Seattle to give birth to her daughter, Alora.
“It feels like a full circle, since my mom had us here and everything,” Gutierrez-Vazquez said.
Dr John Waldhausen was involved in the 31-hour surgery to separate the twins, who each had one leg and shared a second, fused leg, as well as sharing several internal organs.
“This is probably about as complex and as difficult as anything we do or have done,” Dr Waldhausen said at the time.
Dr Waldhausen’s involvement in saving her and Kathleen’s life has had an impact on Charity, and he was one of the first people she told when she found out she was pregnant.
“He’s been with me through the lot,” she said.
“When you’re involved with an operation like that, you’re really hoping you can create a whole lifetime for somebody,” Dr Waldhausen said.
But, Dr Waldhausen admits he had some concerns.
“I didn’t know if her uterus was going to allow her to carry a child,” he said.
“I didn’t know if her abdominal wall reconstruction was going to allow her abdomen to expand in such a way that a baby could grow.”
To oversee Gutierrez-Vazquez’s pregnancy and delivery, Dr Waldhausen reached out to a colleague, Dr Edith Cheng, for help.
Alora was born at nearly 34 weeks via C-section before being taken to NICU for supplemental oxygen, with doctors reporting that both the mother and newborn are healthy.
“I wouldn’t call it a miracle,” Dr Waldhausen said.
“I would call it a medical triumph.”
“Charity’s case really is the full obstetrical circle,” Dr Cheng said.
“This howling girl this morning, at almost 34 weeks, that is a true triumph, to get this baby to almost term.
“This baby’s healthy.”
Gutierrez-Vazquez’s twin, Kathleen, met Alora via Facetime.
“God’s really blessed me with all the doctors in my life and everything,” Gutierrez-Vazquez said.
“I think it’s important that people see we’re still doing good, and living the best life we can.”
Image: Yahoo news