Conjoined sisters die during surgery

Emma Joan and Taylor Nalani Bailey were born conjoined from waist to sternum and sharing one heart. Their prognosis was so grim they spent their first 18 months in hospice. But they lived, so their parents took them home.

They had 3 brothers and a sister and lived a life that was normal to them. Wanting the best for their daughters their parents consulted with medical specialist all over the world on the girls unique condition and surgical options.

Unlike the original “Siamese twins” Chang an Eng,  who merely shared some tough fibrous tissue and a small part of their liver and could have been easily separated, the Bailey sisters had a shared heart and would have been difficult to separate.  The enormous strain of one heart working for two people made heart troubles seem inevitable so preparatory surgeries were made for an eventual separation. During the surgery for separation each girl was to get her own heart from a donor.

Alas, there were complications during one of the preparatory surgeries which was performed on Friday August 13.  The girls passed away. You may visit their blog at Emma Joan and Taylor Nalani Bailey to see pictures of the girls and their family. Condolences to the Bailey family and their friends and community who have supported them thru the sister’s short life.

Rare conjoined twins die at Seattle hospital
By TIM HAECK  |  Aug 13, 2010  |  KIRO Radio | www.mynorthwest.com

When Emma and Taylor Bailey were born almost four years ago, doctors didn’t give them much of a chance. “We were told when they were born they’d live a few minutes, maybe a few hours,” says their grandfather Don Lybbert of Lynnwood.

The conjoined twins were linked from waist to sternum and shared a heart. The girls survived in hospice for 18 months so their parents had to decide what to do. They consulted with specialists. “Their file literally went to doctors all over the world,” says Libbert. He says there was no consensus on the best treatment for the conjoined twins.

The twins grew up and Lybbert says the almost four year old girls had unique personalities but were definitely in tune. “On the way to the hospital the other morning, they were humming a song in unison in perfect pitch, it was just amazing,” says Lybbert.

Taylor and Emma had their spats. “When you have a sister six inches away from you, 24/7, you get irritated and every once in a while there’d be a whack but they always gave each other loves back and they really took care of each other,” says Lybbert.

“They came in together and they left together, he adds.”

The twins went into surgery this week here in Seattle to strengthen their heart in preparation for getting new hearts. But the conjoined twins did not survive. It was similar to two previous operations so the family was shocked when doctors told them the girls did not pull through.

Lybbert says his daughter was not comfortable watching her twins go under general anesthesia so he was with them prior to surgery. He says “one of my sweet, sweet memories will be that I got to give them their last kiss, just before they went to sleep.”