Formerly conjoined twins celebrated with baby shower
Parents Amanda Arciniega and James Finley are finally able to celebrate the homecoming of their twin daughters AmieLynn and JamieLynn, a baby shower that was months in the making.
The 6-month-old girls were conjoined at birth and were successfully separated after an 11-hour surgery in January.
Two months after the separation surgery, JamieLynn was able to be discharged from the hospital. Her sister AmieLynn had to stay longer until she was well enough for discharge earlier this month. The twins are now both home in Texas and the Finley-Arciniega family is settling in and savoring tender moments together.
"Out the hospital, home with family. So everything’s good," Amanda Arciniega said.
AmieLynn and JamieLynn were born last October and had been attached at the abdomen. The girls also shared a liver.
More than 50 medical professionals at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, teamed up to separate the twins when they were 3 months old.
"It was hard seeing them when they first came out of surgery," dad James Finley recalled.
"It took about a month after surgery till we could hold them 'cause we couldn’t do anything here," he added, referring to the girls' surgical incisions on their chests.
"They were on breathing machines and all the wires and stuff so it was a lot," Arciniega said. "And they still have a lot of therapy so we’re not quite done yet."
This weekend, "GMA" was there as the family gathered with loved ones for the baby shower.
They also hosted a special guest -- Brianne Galban -- one of the nurses who cared for AmieLynn and JamieLynn, who had the opportunity to reunite with the twins.
"I’m so excited to see them, meet all their family," Galban said. "I love them now. They’re like part of my family."
