Triplets are unusual enough on their own, but most people don’t believe it’s feasible to have a conjoined twin among them.
In fact, this kind of birth only occurs once in 200,000 live births, according to research!
So when a drug-addicted couple had them and had skipped prenatal checkups, they had no idea what to do!
In order to give the infants a greater chance of surviving in life, the parents chose to place the newborns for adoption. Thank goodness another couple intervened and offered assistance.
Darla and Jeff Garrison have always taken in kids with delicate medical needs as foster children. They have always desired girls who would stay with them for a very long time, but the placement was not permanent.
Tyler, Matt, and Luke are their three biological children; nonetheless, they wish to expand their nuclear family with daughters.
Their hope came true twenty years ago when they welcomed a special set of triplet daughters into their family, two of whom are conjoined. In December 2002, the triplets were conceived.
Madeline was taken in by the family when she was just four days old, and then Macey and Mackenzie, the conjoined twins, at the age of four weeks.
The conjoined twins were born linked at the pelvis with intertwined intestines and weighed 2.2 pounds apiece at birth. They each had a leg, but they had to share a third limb that was non-functional.
At the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, under the supervision of pediatric surgeon James Stein, Macey and Mackenzie underwent a 24-hour multi-stage separation procedure on September 10, 2003.
Their skin was prepared by stretching them out beforehand so that it could be stitched and flapped over their wounds with ease.
Although it was a sensitive and difficult process, it was necessary. The girls would frequently reassure and pacify each other, according to Darla.
Fortunately, the procedure went well, and after six weeks in the hospital, Mackenzie was the first to go home. Macey was then launched a month later.
To the pleasure of their brothers, Darla and Jeff began the adoption procedure as soon as they had moved in. Two years later, the Garrisons were eventually granted the legal right to adopt the three.
They subsequently relocated to a farm in Indianola, Iowa, since Darla and Jeff wanted them to have childhood memories of life in the country.
“The girls have triumphed through hard effort and the commitment of their family,” Dr. Stein remarked. Their development is beautiful and motivating.
Even though they originally had nearly same genetic make-up and similar bodily parts, the two had distinct personalities.
According to their mother, Macy is “softer around the edges” and loves to stay at home. On the other side, Mackenzie is more extroverted and adores the outdoors.
They overcame a variety of obstacles as they grew up, such as the need to move about with crutches and a prosthetic.
They have family, which is what matters most; they can depend on it no matter what. Additionally, each of them has an ostomy bag that needs to be changed periodically.
They were nonetheless able to have a typical upbringing filled with duties despite these obstacles!
According to Linda Kontis, a co-founder of the foster care organization where the triplets were fostered, handicapped children who are reared in a setting where they are treated like a normal child also see themselves in that way, which is maybe why the triplets are doing well today.
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