Atlanta couple’s conjoined twin daughters, fused at the heart, lived for just 1 hour: ‘Gift from God’
Breana Dell was only able to hold her newborn twins, Amelia Jane and Elhora Auri, for just one hour after they were born on Feb. 29 — but every minute was filled with "peace" and "awe," she said.
Three months before that, at 17 weeks of pregnancy, she and her husband, Matthew Dell, had gotten an ultrasound to learn the gender of what they thought was one baby.
The Atlanta couple was shocked to discover the single heartbeat on the monitor was shared by two girls. The conjoined twins were fused at the torso.
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"Everything changed in that moment," Dell, 24, a stay-at-home mom, told Fox News Digital during a phone interview.
"I started to panic and cry."
Amelia Jane Dell and Elhora Auri Dell were born on Feb. 29 at 7:37 a.m. They each weighed 3.5 pounds. (Mandy Daniel Photography)
Doctors told the couple there was little-to-no chance of separating the twins — which meant there would be little-to-no chance of their survival.
"Because of how their heart was conjoined, it would just be too complicated," Dell said.
The couple saw numerous specialists for MRIs and other exams.
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"It was lots and lots of appointments, in hopes that they would be wrong and that something could be done — but it didn't work out that way," Dell said.
The month before the twins were born, a cardiologist confirmed that there would be no way of separating the twins, and they would probably not survive.
The Dells focused on preparing for delivery and all the different outcomes they might face.
"Their heart literally was one unit," Dell said. "I got the question a lot: ‘Can’t you just save one of them?’ It wasn’t possible, because they couldn’t live without each other."
With that tough news, the Dells focused on preparing for delivery and all the different outcomes they might face.
"Northside Hospital [in Atlanta] was amazing," Dell said. "They were so kind and considerate of our situation and our family."
'Never lost hope'
Dell, who already had a 1-year-old son, Dallas, was offered the choice of having an abortion — but she said it was "never even a thought."
"Our thought process was always, ‘What can we do to save them and keep them,’" she said.
"Our faith was the biggest factor in the decision we made."
"Our faith was the biggest factor in the decision we made," she added. "I don't know how anybody could get through a situation like that without having faith."
Despite the twins’ prognosis, Dell said, she believes they were a gift from God who came to them for a reason.
"When I was first told that they were conjoined, it was just this bubble of devastation, sadness, confusion, uncertainty and fear," the twins' mom recalled. "But nobody can predict the future perfectly, and you just never know what the outcome will be." (Mandy Daniel Photography)
"When I was first told that they were conjoined, it was just this bubble of devastation, sadness, confusion, uncertainty and fear," she recalled.
"But nobody can predict the future perfectly, and you just never know what the outcome will be."
As the pregnancy progressed, however, Dell said she faced tough emotional struggles.
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"I had severe anxiety attacks," she said. "I knew what the outcome would be — but you can’t really prepare yourself for that."
She went on, "Toward the end of my pregnancy, I had severe brain fog, my stomach was in knots, and I knew my body was trying to tell me, ‘Hey, you're not OK."
‘A sense of peace’
Amelia Jane Dell and Elhora Auri Dell were born on Feb. 29 at 7:37 a.m.
They each weighed 3.5 pounds.
Matthew and Breana Dell are shown holding their twin daughters after they were born on Feb. 29. "It was amazing to see how their little bodies were still working," Breana Dell said. (Mandy Daniel Photography)
The girls came into the world the same way they had appeared in the later ultrasounds — with their arms wrapped around each other.
"It was actually really sweet the way they were conjoined — they were holding each other from the moment they were alive, just in a big hug," Dell said.
"Just to know that they were there, and that I held them alive, brought a sense of peace."
"It was amazing to see how their little bodies were still working," she went on.
"They didn't move a whole lot or open their eyes — but just to know that they were there, and that I held them alive, brought a sense of peace … I couldn't imagine not getting to meet them."
What to know about conjoined twins
Conjoined twins are rare, occurring in one of every 50,000 to 200,000 births, statistics show.
The condition results from a single fertilized egg dividing into two embryos more than 13 days after fertilization, according to StatPearls, a medical resource on the U.S. National Library of Medicine's website.
They are about three times more likely to affect female babies than males.
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"The classification of conjoined twins is based on the location of their connection and the organs they share," Dr. Marschall Runge, MD, PhD, CEO of Michigan Medicine — who did not treat Dell or the babies — told Fox News Digital.
"Survival rates vary significantly depending on the ability to successfully separate shared organs."
Twins who share a heart or components of the brain have the highest mortality rates, the doctor noted.
Matthew and Breana Dell are pictured with their 1-year-old son, Dallas Dell. (Breana Dell)
"Even if they survive the initial separation, many face long-term health challenges and may require additional surgeries," Runge said.
The overall survival rate for conjoined twins after separation is approximately 75%, but this can vary greatly depending on several factors, according to the doctor.
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A majority of conjoined twins (28%) are fused at the thorax (torso) and abdomen, StatPearls states.
Another 18.5% are joined at the thorax and 10% are joined at the abdomen.
Conjoined twins are three times more likely to occur with female babies than males. (Mandy Daniel Photography)
In 10% of cases, there is a heteropagus (parasitic twin), in which one twin is less developed than the other.
In 6% of cases, the twins are joined at the cranium.
Lifted by support
Throughout their journey, the Dells said they received a great deal of support from their family, friends and church, as well as people reaching out on social media.
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"We have an amazing church family that has surrounded us in love and prayers," Dell said.
She also created a Facebook page for the girls, where people rallied around the family and sent messages of encouragement and love.
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After their time with the babies came to an end, the Dells were faced with a long road to healing and recovery.
The area where the babies are joined is a key factor in whether they are candidates for separation surgery. (Mandy Daniel Photography)
"It comes and goes," Dell said. "Sometimes I feel OK, and then I’ll have really hard moments, hard days or even hard weeks."
She also said, "I definitely miss my babies."
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The Dells are planning to grow their family in the future.
"We definitely want more children," Dell told Fox News Digital.
"I got the question a lot: ‘Can’t you just save one of them?’" Breana Dell said. "It wasn’t possible, because they couldn’t live without each other." (Mandy Daniel Photography)
A previous conjoined twin pregnancy does not increase the risk of a recurrence, according to StatPearls.
Fox News Digital reached out to Northside Hospital in Atlanta for comment.
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