The parents of Andrew Donovan Lee and Garrett Donovan Lee Stancombe, who share a liver and a heart have said they are not going to separate them.
The boys who were born on April 10 to 25-year-old father, Kody Stancombe and mother, Michelle Van Horne are joined from their upper chest to the belly button. They share a heart and a liver and were born a month short of a normal full-term pregnancy.
According to the twins' young parents:
"We are thankful they were able to survive this long, and they're still going strong. We've discussed it and we see the best is to keep them together. It would hurt us to lose one and have the other. They were born together; they can stay together."
The way they’re conjoined, Andrew and Garrett face each other and compete for space to put their arms. Their hands wind up under each other’s necks, sometimes with one brother’s fingers in the other brother’s mouth.
The chances that conjoined twins will survive are minimal. The chances that both conjoined twins will survive surgical separation are even tinier. That's why Van Horne and Stancombe said they will not separate their sons, that it is medically too risky; they could lose one or both of the boys during surgery.
Van Horne told CNN's affiliate WTAE:
For me, (the best part) is being able to hold them and hear them cry and know they're here with me. Definitely, changing their diapers and bathing them is a two person job for me."
The twins have an elder brother, Riley, who will turn 2 next month.
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