Mother of conjoined twins to give birth in Colorado

An expectant mother awaiting the arrival of conjoined twins in Colorado says she wants to see her two girls before they are separated because doctors expect only one of them will survive. “I don’t think you can prepare for losing a child”, said McCullough, through tears.

The twins, who will be delivered by cesarean section, are connected at the chest, abdomen and pelvis and Olivia is unlikely to survive because she only has a single-ventricle heart, is missing valves and has a congenital brain malformation.

“If we kept them together for any real period of time at all, the result would be death for both”, McCullough said.

Because of the physical differences and the way the twins are attached, doctors say they may be able to save Hannah using a surgery called an EXIT procedure – Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment – before cutting the umbilical cord.

But McCullough, who already has a 6-year old son, sought multiple second opinions and eventually found a team at Children’s Hospital in Aurora willing to perform a separation surgery, in the hope Hannah might live.

Amber McCullough, the mother to little Olivia and Hannah, was scheduled to have a caesarian section Wednesday to deliver the girls.

McCullough has lived at the Ronald McDonald House in Aurora since early August. “That being said, naturally there will be some uncomfortable parts of this journey in which case we will also lean on the doctors to manage her pain”, McCullough wrote on the GoFundMe page she set up to raise money for living and medical expenses during her pregnancy. “There’s a chance of saving one”.

“I just can’t lose both”, McCullough said.

Statistics suggest the odds of a successful separation are about 75-percent. “I’m going to make dang sure she’s happy and comfortable”.

“I can’t stress how comforting it has been… all the people saying prayers for us”, McCullough said. Her stepmother is there, keeping her company and caring for her. She says one of the twins, Hannah, shows normal function and organ development in ultrasounds. “Nobody is ready to lose a child no matter what the circumstances”. They also gave her keepsakes that honor both babies’ lives. “I really believe prayer took us a long way and got us here”.

McCullough, a U.S. Army Reserves captain and Twin Cities attorney serving victims of domestic violence, is a divorced single mother to a 6-year-old boy, Tristan.

“So far we have been lucky”, Prosen told USA Today.

The commitment and work ethic she practiced during her years of military service shine through in this new battle. “I can’t do that with my kids”. “You children will always be the most sacred thing for you in life”. “You never picture yourself having conversations about contacting funeral homes, cremation, or memory baptisms”.