Long Beach, CA - September 21: The NICU at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center is filled with twins after a month of multiple twin births in Long Beach on Thursday, September 21, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
A family is celebrating a major milestone for their toddlers. The formerly conjoined twins enjoyed their first birthday this month, per Good Morning America. JamieLynn and AmieLynn Finley are also now walking!
The twin sisters reportedly spent about six months of their birth in the hospital. Surgeons at Cook Children’s Medical Center performed a rare surgery to separate the girls’ liver, skin, and facia (connective tissue) nine months ago.
By springtime, both girls were home in Saginaw, Texas. The hospital released JamieLynn in March and AmieLynn in April.
Their father, James Finley, told GMA he feels “lucky” at every follow-up appointment Jamie and Amie have! He recalled seeing a person with a NICU band on and praying for them to bring their little one home, too.
“I was like, “I’m praying for y’all to go home,” James said. “Everybody’s that’s in [the neo-natal unit], they all want to go home and we made it home, with both of them.”
Doctors are still monitoring the formerly conjoined twins. AmieLynn has been diagnosed with scoliosis post-surgery. However, GMA reports that the girls’ doctors expect them to live “healthy lives.”
“They are just right on target with their developmental milestones. They’re very social,” neonatologist Dr. Mary Frances Lynch said. “They’re even a little ahead of schedule as far as their motor skills are concerned, so it’s really just incredible.”
Since the surgery, the formerly conjoined twins have continued to thrive in their new independence. Their mother, Amanda Arciniega, spoke to GMA about watching her daughters’ progress.
“I just think it’s so crazy because they had just got home not too long ago and now they’re just thriving,” Amanda said.
Despite the newness of separation surgery, the mother says her twins have a close bond.
“They always like to touch each other and hold each other’s hands and Jamie likes to give Amie kisses,” Amanda added. “When they kiss each other, they giggle and their beds are right next to each other, so when one wakes up, she wakes up her sister.”
If you ask dad, the twins “don’t sit still anymore.” They “wake up at 6 in the morning” on GO!
See a clip of JamieLynn and AmieLynn below.
