Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Twins Conjoined At The Heart Look Amazing 1 Year After Life-Threatening Separation Surgery



Eric and Elysse Mata have four beautiful children. The Lubbock, Texas, family hasn't been without its hardships, though, and thank God and surgeons at Texas Children's Hospital for their twin girls. 
The parents of Azariah, Knatalye, Adeline, and Mia have had a trying couple of years, but their Hope, Faith, and Love are keeping them strong. This family has become an inspiration, check out their amazing story and see what the kids are up to now!
SHARE this article on Facebook. What a wonderful group of children!

Meet the Mata twins, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith.


On April 11th, 2014, Elysse Mata gave birth to the twin girls, who were connected by their "chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac (the lining of the heart), diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon and pelvis."

Doctors had advised her to end her pregnancy, but the Matas never considered that an option.


They said, “I told him, ‘I don't care what the case is, I'm going to go as long as I can, and if God decides that he needs them more, then so be it.'"Thankfully that wasn't the case — the girls were born 9 weeks early, but healthy. “It was heaven on earth, just to be able to hold them so close to me. Everybody talks about when they see their baby, they don't count their toes, they just see a baby… I just saw two miracle angels laying there, peacefully sleeping.”

For the next year, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith would live at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.


Eric, Elysse, and their 5-year-old son, Azariah, packed up their lives in Lubbock, and moved into an RVso they could be closer to the hospital and their babies.

The girls were strong — and they'd need to be.


Roughly 200,000 conjoined twins are born every year. If they can survive birth and the first day, conjoined twins still only have a 5-25% overall survival rate. They would be going for separation surgery, Dr. Darrell Cass, their lead surgeon, made sure his team was well-prepared for what was in store. For months the team operated on 3D models and mannequins. “Separating conjoined twins is a very complicated task and there are lots of risks involved, and death is absolutely one of those risks,” Dr. Cass said.


But on February 17th, 2015, for the first time in their lives, they were separated.


After a 26-hour surgery at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, a team of 12 surgeons, six anesthesiologists, and eight surgical nurses finished operating on the ten-month-olds.

It was the first successful separation surgery of its kind, touted as a victory not just for the Mata family, but for the medical field.


"We are so grateful to all of the surgeons and everyone who cared for our daughters and gave them the incredible chance to live separate lives," Elysse said. "We know how much planning and time went into this surgery and we are so blessed to be at a place like Texas Children’s where we have access to the surgeons and caretakers that have made this dream a reality. We also want to express our gratitude to all of the people that have prayed and provided support to our family over the last 10 months."

The family had a huge support system — family, friends, and online.


Elysse has said of their support system, "In addition to the great care our girls received, the thoughts, prayers and outpouring of love from the community really helped get us through the last year and we are grateful for everyone's continued support." The family still updates their Facebook page, Helping Faith & Hope Mata, to keep every informed of the girls' progress and how the family is doing.

Jennifer Pitlick, NICU nurse described that fateful day:


"Before the girls were wheeled off to their almost 24-hour surgery, we all gathered around their bed along with their family for a prayer. I remember looking around during the prayer and seeing the nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, patient care assistants, family members, chaplains and social workers all praying for our girls. I was overwhelmed with how many people were here because they simply loved the girls. Suddenly I felt at peace in that moment. As the girls were wheeled off to surgery, the team lined the hallway to see them off. It was a truly remarkable moment in Texas Children’s Hospital history. Many of us stayed around throughout the day and checked in with the family while the girls underwent surgery. We had all become an extended part of the Mata family and those girls were our girls. We wanted to be there for the updates. We wanted to hear they were doing well."

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