A pair of rare conjoined twins in Fiji – 10 months ago as part of a set of triplets – are about to have separation surgery in Saudi Arabia.
By Margot Staunton of RNZ
Twins Di Cecea and Jesipeli Kikau were born eight weeks premature with their sister, Hossana, at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in the capital, Suva.
"The doctors said this is the first case of conjoined twins in Fiji in 20 years," their mother Akenata said in a video shared by Fiji's Health Ministry.
"When they were born, the doctors said they might only survive for a few days. We are grateful to the nurses, doctors and medical staff here at the hospital for their service," she said.
With the girls having survived against the odds so far, the next stage of their fight for life takes them to the other side of the world.
Bound for Riyadh
The twins' parents, Akeneta and Watisoni Vulimaiigiladi of Rewa, have been searching for a country to perform the surgery since the girls were discharged from hospital eight months ago.
Australia and Saudi Arabia were among the contenders, and finally the Saudi Arabian government offered to fund the multi-million-dollar surgery, as well as the family's airfares and accommodation, under a humanitarian programme.
The twins and their parents are due to leave Fiji for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, where the girls will undergo complex surgery at the King Salman Hospital in the capital, Riyadh.
Fiji's government is covering the cost of a medical escort to accompany the family on their journey, adding that the gesture from Saudi Arabia was proof of the "incredible bilateral relations between the two countries".
"We are thankful that the Ministry of Health can assist us, when we went back home (eight months ago) we were worried about the twins because I am affected when I watch them and see the other kids," Akenata said
"I get emotional, but I know that there is a living God who will ensure that they live."
This is the second case of conjoined twins in the Pacific region in the past year, after brothers Sawong and Tom Kevin were born in a remote village in Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea last October.
The boys, fused at the lower abdomen, underwent emergency separation surgery at Sydney Children's Hospital last December, however only Sawong survived.
SHARE ME