Conjoined twins continue to defy the odds

Sisters Azora and Azaria Elson continue to create history in Jamaica as the longest surviving Siamese twins - 52 days counting today.

The twins, who will be two months old on January 7, are joined at the abdomen. They share some of the abdominal skin, components of the gastrointestinal tract and an umbilical cord. They are admitted at the University Hospital of the West Indies and their mother, Iesha McMurray, said that other than Azora's breathing and heart conditions, the infants are progressing fine.

"Azaria alright and she love her food. Azora is bigger than her though but she likes to sleep. Both of them are very active and they like to smile. They sleep at different times, so a lot of the time when I come, one is sleeping and the other one up and active. They are really adorable and I look forward to the day when they will be separated and I can take them home," McMurray said.

The twins were born at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital via C-section on November 7. Over the past five decades, there have been about two cases of conjoined twins locally - one pregnancy was terminated, and in the other case, the babies died shortly after birth. McMurray said that the family continues to pray for Azora's health issues to be resolved.

"'Twin 2' (her name for Azora) still having issues because even yesterday (Tuesday) the doctors said she was breathing fast again. Her medication did finish last week and the holiday did come up and the hospital didn't have it at the time, so I had to buy it outside. It's just the heart problem and the breathing issue. The doctors said because Azora is still not stable and she breathing fast, they have to push back the CT scan because they will have to be sedated," she explained.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account to assist with medical bills. So far, US$3,250 (approximately J$504,000) has been raised out of the US$50,000 (approximately $7.7 million) goal.

Persons wishing to assist Azaria and Azora Elson, may contribute to the GoFundMe account at https://gofund.me/19221951.