Separated twin girls return to Guatemala
Posted on 01/14/2003 6:00:33 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Separated twin girls return to Guatemala
Crowd welcomes 'Little Marias' who had been joined at the skull
01/14/2003
GUATEMALA CITY - Twin Guatemalan girls born fused at the skull returned home Monday after successful surgery to the welcoming arms of families, friends and dignitaries.
"These little girls make all of Guatemala smile," said sculptor Gloria Chanex, who sells clay pots in a Guatemala City tourist market. "Many people outside Guatemala will watch the return. A happy country is what they will see."
Their grandfathers held the drowsy twins above their heads, the girls' dark blue dresses flapping in the wind, as news photographers snapped pictures while scores of onlookers applauded.
Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez and Maria de Jesus, known in Guatemala as "The Little Marias," were also greeted by first lady Evelyn de Portillo and U.S. Ambassador John Hamilton as they were carried off a plane from Los Angeles. The girls, now 17 months old, were separated Aug. 6 in a 23-hour operation there.
From the airport, ambulances carried the girls to a private wing in one of the Guatemalan capital's most exclusive hospitals. After a few days to adjust to their country's climate and altitude, the twins will move into a new home a private pediatric foundation built for them on the outskirts of the city. A team of nurses will provide 24-hour care for them and medical training for their mother, Alba Leticia Alvarez, 23.
Hours earlier, the sisters emerged in matching strollers from Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California at Los Angeles. "I am very grateful to all the staff," said their father, Wenceslao Quiej Lopez, 21.
The cost of the surgery and medical care totaled $2 million.
Maria Teresa, whom doctors recently fitted with a hearing aid, has lagged behind her sister in development. Both girls have yet to begin walking or talking.
Dr. Henry Kawamoto, lead plastic surgeon for the twins' medical team, said he expects the girls to catch up. "All pun intended, two heads are better than one," he said.
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It's nice to take for granted that when delicate medical intervention is required, your native country is the place to have it performed . . .As to the issue of possible commonality of brain tissue between the twins, a recent and very impressive book (The Mind and the Brain) suggests that that is likely to prove not to be a problem. Although brain functions can normally be mapped to fairly specific areas of the brain, the brain itself is amazingly "plastic". If it be necessary to excise even half of the brain of a small child, the other half can adapt so well as to manifest no outward sign of the loss.
Even the adult brain adapts quite a bit; a stroke victim is well advised not to give up but to attempt to regain function--it seems that the effort tends to rewire the brain around the stroke damage . . .
Who is paying this bill?
"We knew we would only be reimbursed through donations ... we have also gained a legacy of new knowledge that will benefit medical treatment and teaching far into the future," said Dr. Edward McCabe, physician-in-chief at the UCLA hospital.
So, there's an unquantifiable amount we received in medical knowledge that some Americans will benefit from in the future.
I'm not sure how much is left over after that if anything but some would argue America got the better end of the deal...
There's more details on this thread from yesterday: Separated Twins Head Home to Guatemala
Yeah, I guess The Great Satan must really be getting to be an old softie, huh?...
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