Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa leave Royal Children’s Hospital
Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa have left a Melbourne hospital as individual “cheeky” girls, separated, healthy and ready for the next phase of their remarkable journey, weeks after their life-changing separation surgery.
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Nima and Dawa Pelden have ventured out of the Royal Children’s Hospital separated, healthy and ready for the next phase of their remarkable journey.
From today, the formerly-conjoined 16-month-old Bhutanese twins will continue their rehabilitation at the Children First Foundation’s Kilmore retreat to adapt the enormity of life separated.
The sisters and their mother Bhumchu Zangmo were given a rock star farewell from hospital today as they said goodbye to their RCH carers and saviours, 17 days after separation surgery and 56 days since a mercy flight from their their high-altitude Himalayan home.
HOW SURGEONS SEPARATED THE TWINS
TWINS’ MERCY DASH TO MELB FOR SURGERY
Today’s celebration even had the royal seal of approval when a letter from Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuck arrived at the RCH, thanking the team for their amazing effort.
As Nima and Dawa left his care, RCH head of paediatric surgery Dr Joe Crameri said the girls had been given a future thanks to caring community as well as his medical team.
“The twins have made an excellent recovery, They are now starting to act independently and move around,” Dr Crameri said.
“The staff on the ward have seen a remarkable two girls, girls that we have watched over this journey, girls who started off attached and bonded to one another but (were) ultimately frustrated with one another.
“We saw them become incredibly anxious after the separation when they knew their other twin was not immediately in front of them.
“But ultimately, over the last couple of weeks, we have seen them gain confidence, we have seen them gain independence, we have seen them gain a lot of strength.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to watch how the girls have recovered and to watch their interaction now — the joy of being young, and the joy of newness and seeing how the world can be when you are actually separated.”
Born joined as a mirror image of each other from the lower chest and through their abdomen, a team of more than 25 Melbourne specialists separated the twins after a year-long effort to bring them to Australia.
In the coming weeks and possibly months, the Children First Foundation will use physiotherapy and nursing services to build Nima and Dawa’s strength, co-ordination and movement.
Interaction with other children at the charity’s retreat will also be crucial to their separate development and identities.
The girls are beginning to sit for the first time in their lives and building strength so they may soon be able to try standing and walking, though Dr Crameri said so far Nima had progressed slightly quicker.
“I think that is partially related to the way the girls had had to sit in the past, because of being joined. It was always natural that Nima, who tended to be the one pushing Dawa away, was going to have a little bit more strength,” he said.
“But we feel confident now that they have all the resources there to gradually build up.”
While they are not yet talking, the sisters are using Wiggles hand signs to say “yummy yummy” when they want to eat.
“They are finding their own way of communicating and we are hoping all these other normal developmental things will improve now they have separation,” Dr Crameri said.
“We always knew this was an investment in a long journey, and we also knew we were only one step in that journey.”
No timelines have yet been set for the sisters’ return to Bhutan, with discussions needed with Himalayan doctors to determine what rehabilitation services are available over the coming weeks.
While he may only need to see Nima and Dawa once more as their doctor, Dr Crameri said he planned to keep in touch with his special patients in Australia and beyond.
“My greatest disappointment is that Dawa has turned on me,” he laughed.
“I thought Dawa was going to be eternally grateful to me because I got her sister off her, but Dawa just seems to get grumpy with me now.
“They are just learning to get used to being separated and I think that is a challenge. They were very nervous about that at the beginning.
“They are very comfortable in their own space. They are very cheeky, they like to replicate the Wiggles ... and they have always loved passing things between one another.”
NURSE’S BITTERSWEET FAREWELL
Having travelled across the globe to care for her most special patients, Tshewang Choden is torn by conflicting emotions as she returns to the Himalayas tomorrow.
Since boarding a flight from Bhutan on October 1 with formerly-conjoined twins Nima and Dawa Pelden, the nurse has barely left the side.
As her now globally famous patients left the Royal Children’s Hospital separated and in good health, Ms Choden said she was overcome with the joy of seeing her job through, but struggling with the prospect of being half a world away from them.
“I am very happy to have accompanied them from Bhutan to Australia and, now they are separated, it is my pleasure to be with them, to be a part of them,” Ms Choden said.
“I have mixed emotions. I am going home, but they are still here.
“Half of my mind is at my home, but half will still be with the girls.”
Since arriving in Australia, Ms Choden has not only been a nurse to Nima and Dawa, but a best friend and translator for their mother Bhumchu Zangmo in a country as different from their homeland as can be imagined.
Ms Choden will finally return to her own young family 55 days after flying out, aware that Nima and Dawa’s story has captivated her homeland and stirred pride in the courage of Ms Zangmo and the Bhutanese medical staff who helped.
But while Nima and Dawa may now be separated and finding their way in the world, Ms Choden is thrilled that their characters have not changed.
“They are doing very good, they can sit now and hold their heads. They are trying to crawl and stand up. “(But) they are they still the same.
“Nima is still the bossy one and Dawa is pleasant — she likes the books I read.
“Nima knew they were being discharged today. Most of the time they see the camera they become very serious, they cry and scream. But today they are very happy.”
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