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Against the Odds
The Oprah Winfrey Show  |  June 18, 2009
Kendra and Maliyah after surgery


As the twins grew older, their parents, Jake and Erin, faced an agonizing decision. If Kendra and Maliyah continued their lives conjoined, their shared kidney could eventually fail. But doctors had never performed surgery to separate two bodies sharing the same kidney, and there was a chance the twins might not survive.

Erin and Jake made the decision to let doctors separate their conjoined twin daughters when they were 4 years old. After a 26-hour surgery, Erin and Jake got the good news—the doctors had successfully separated their daughters.
Printed from Oprah.com on Saturday, May 18, 2013
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