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 Ten-month-old Dominique underwent a six-hour procedure involving
five surgeons at the Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge,
Illinois, on March 8. She is now thriving with the Chicago foster
family who will look after her until she is well enough to return
home, her doctors and foster mother told Reuters on Monday.
"It's going rather well. She was only in the hospital a total of
five days. She's been home with 'step-mom' and just doing very, very
well," said pediatric and reconstructive surgeon Frank A. Vicari.
Dominique was born with a parasitic twin. The bottom half of her
not-fully-developed twin's body protruded from her neck and back.
"A parasitic twin is an identical twin that fails to fully separate
in development," said John R. Ruge, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the
hospital. "In other words, not another independent twin, but a twin
that was dependent on her body system, such that Dominique's heart
and lungs provided the nourishment."
Doctors did not give Dominique's family name.
Nancy Swabb, from Edgebrook, Illinois, has looked after Dominique
since she arrived in the United States for the surgery.
"She’s been a joy. We really enjoyed having her in our family," said
Swabb.
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"We send a lot of photos and updates and so we know that Dominique's
family sees what she's doing and seeing that she has two new teeth
and she's learning to wave and doing all sorts of special things."
Swabb said she did not want to think about saying goodbye to
Dominique when she returns to her family in the Ivory Coast.
"She has touched our hearts. She’s a member of our family," Swabb
said. "She’s pretty amazing."
(Reporting by Jane Ross in Los Angeles; Additional reporting and
writing by Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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