A set of conjoined twins are competing in a state cheerleading competition in Texas with their mom as their head coach, almost ten years after being surgically separated.
Scarlett and Ximena Hernandez Ambriz were born conjoined at the pelvis in 2016 alongside their triplet, Catalina, who was not attached. Surgeons at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, separated the infant girls in a 12-hour procedure. Though successful, doctors warned that the twins might never walk.
Now, nine years later, they're competing as cheerleaders in a routine their mother, Silvia Hernandez, said celebrates the journey they've taken as a family.
"Thanks to the doctors, they're here … walking and dancing," Silvia told ABC Corpus Christi affiliate KIII.
“It’s like they were born again,” Silvia said. “An example for other kids with medical conditions — if they want something, to not give up.”
According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, conjoined twins are rare and most often female.
"Conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births. Approximately 70 percent of conjoined twins are female, and most are stillborn," their website reads. "Approximately 75 percent of conjoined twins are joined at least partially in the chest and share organs with one another. If they have separate sets of organs, chances for surgery and survival are greater than if they share the same organs. As a rule, shared heart conjoined twins cannot be separated."
According to the Cleveland Clinic, conjoined twins are formed by identical twin embryos that don't fully separate after fertilization.
"The change happens when something disrupts the process that leads to identical twins. Identical twins happen when a single embryo from one egg and one sperm divide into two embryos that are close together. If an embryo division happens 12 to 14 days after fertilization, the fetal parts may remain connected or conjoined instead of forming two individual but identical twins," according to the Cleveland Clinic.