THE PARENTS of twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf who were separated in complex surgery in London in early April hope to have their sons home in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, within a matter of weeks.
The twins, aged five months, were moved from the intensive care unit to a normal ward at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on May 1st, weeks earlier than expected by the medical team.
Doctors continue to be pleased with their progress. The twins are now able to breathe unaided and feed from a bottle.
Their mother Angie Benhaffaf said having the opportunity to bring her boys home was comparable to a Lotto win.
“I felt all the hope and all the prayers of everyone had paid off. It feels like a miracle. We cannot believe we got our happy ending.”
Earlier this month Ms Benhaffaf told the ITV documentary Separate Lives of the first scan she had during her pregnancy and the devastating impact it had on the family.
“Malika (the boys’ sister) wanted to go to the bathroom at that exact time that I was called in so I told the lady, the scan lady, for my husband to come back and she said, ‘shall we get started’, so she put the gel on me and she started scanning, “She said, ‘I’m actually seeing two babies, it’s twins’.
“And I was delighted, twins you know, two for the price of one, but her face wasn’t getting happy saying ‘twins’ and she said, ‘I’m seeing something I’ve never seen before, the babies are joined together’.”
“And I broke my heart crying and Azzedine came in to the room and I was absolutely hysterical.” Her husband Azzedine Benhaffaf said after the “bombshell” was dropped the couple experienced a “terrifying, scary time”.
However, the second scan a few months later brought better news as doctors saw two hearts which meant the boys had a chance of survival.
The brothers were born in December at University College London Hospital.
They spent a few months in the family home with their parents and siblings Malika and two-year- old Iman prior to the surgery.
The Benhaffafs have sworn to give their boys the best opportunities in life. Mr Benhaffaf says he just wants his boys to have happy lives.
“The only thing I want to do is make them happy, see them playing on top of me like other kids, see them talking to their sisters, going to school together, swimming together. That’s the only thing I want . . . I will do everything for them until the end, I will never give up.”
It is understood the twins were conjoined at the chest area but didn’t share any vital organs, making separation possible. Doctors say their prognosis is very good.
Both boys will need one prosthetic limb each but they are not expected to have to undergo any other medical procedures.