Former conjoined twins AmieLynn and JamieLynn Finley are finally home after spending the first six months of their lives at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth.
Born joined at the chest and sharing a liver, the girls became the first twins surgically separated at Cook Children’s.
After an 11-hour operation, and months of rehab and recovery, JamieLynn went home last month. AmieLynn went home last week after needing a few more weeks in the NICU to recover from an additional surgery.
The family of seven is now finally under one roof.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
“Some moments are just so hard, you have to stay positive, you have to keep the right mindset,” said father James Finley.
The parents and twins returned to Cook Children’s Hospital on Wednesday to see their care team and celebrate their journey home.
Their mother said she loves watching her babies hold each other’s hands as they play in their own room together.
Their care team said the girls went home faster than they expected after six months in their care.
“It’s neat when we get to see our kids go home to their families, it’s why we do it,” said Dr. Jose Iglesisas, Medical Director and Lead Surgeon. “To get to see them with their loving family all together is just the ultimate for us.”
“They’re part of our family and there’s a little piece missing now that they’re not here, but we’re also so happy they’ve done so well and they get to go home and be with each other,” said Nurse Brianne Galvan.
Now six months old, both babies will need frequent check-ups. AmieLynn developed scoliosis as she naturally pulled away from JamieLynn when they were joined.
But their family, joined by their care team, said they were grateful to celebrate this moment.
“Have faith you know, even when they were going in that surgery room, we didn’t know the outcome, we were just praying for the right one and we got the right one,” said Finley.
A fund has been established to help the family, along with a baby registry.
