Hospital Humor: A Necessity

SALT LAKE CITY (Aug. 8) – Reconstructive surgery is now done on both of the twins who had been joined at the midsection.

It took a total of 26 hours to separate and then do the other necessary surgery on the four-year-old girls. Both are now in side-by-side beds at the pediatric intensive care unit of a Salt Lake City hospital. They’ll likely be hospitalized a month.

The twins were born with a shared kidney, liver and pelvis. They also had just one set of legs. Surgeons distributed the legs and organs among them.

Meyers said the surgery, while complicated, had not presented any major surprises for the team of six surgeons, two anesthesiologists, two urologists, one radiologist and more than 25 nurses and medical technicians.

But the days ahead will still be tough, she said.

Erin Herrin, 25, broke into tears and fell into the arms of her 26-year-old husband, Jake Herrin when the couple was told the surgery had been successful. Relatives applauded.

“I don’t know that it’s set in yet,” Jake Herrin said. “We’re not going to feel totally comfortable until they’re out of the OR and everything’s stable.”

“And we can hold them,” his wife added.

The couple, who also have a 6-year-old daughter and twin 14-month-old boys, said they were eager to tell the girls how brave they had been and how proud they have made the family.
Jake Herrin even cracked a few surgery jokes.

“Most people say, ‘You made it through in one piece,” he said. “We can say, “You guys made it through in two.”‘