Conjoined twins return home after successful surgery

After their successful operation at the Tzu Chi General Hospital in Taiwan, former conjoined twins Jennylyn and Jerrylyn de Guzman are back in the Philippines now as separate individuals.
The twins with their mother, Ludy de Guzman, arrived on April 8 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) where they were welcomed by a group of Tzu Chi Foundation volunteers.
On April 10, the Buddhist charity group held a press conference at its head office in Quezon City for the twins’ homecoming. Present in the event are Tzu Chi volunteers led by CEO Alfredo Li, Ambassador Gary Lin of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, representative from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office Arthur Abiera, and members of the PANDA Fire Volunteers Brigade of Dagupan.

Ludy and Jayson de Guzman, the twins’ parents, are beaming with joy, cradling their daughters in their arms, as they answer questions from the media.
According to Ludy, it is a double relief that her daughters have been freed from their condition.
“The twins will be relieved because they have been separated and I, as their mother, will also be relieved because now I can put them down and see them play and move around on their own,” she happily said.

From when they were born on December 8, 2013 until their separation surgery, Jennylyn and Jerrylyn lived for one year and three months sharing one stomach and liver.
Jayson, the twins’ father, extended his gratitude to Tzu Chi Foundation’s founder, Master Cheng Yen, Tzu Chi volunteers, and the Tzu Chi General Hospital doctors who took care of his wife and daughters throughout their three-month stay in Taiwan. “My twins have grown stronger so I am really grateful to all those who helped us,” he added.

Tzu Chi Foundation learned of the de Guzman twins’ plight in February 2014 through the help of the PANDA Fire Volunteers Brigade of Dagupan City.
The twins’ surgery was conducted on March 13, 2015 and lasted for eight hours. Under the expert hands of doctors and the modern facilities at the Tzu Chi General Hospital in Taiwan, Ludy said the twins’ recovery was like a miracle.

“After four days the twins were already trying to walk on their own. It’s as if they never underwent an operation at all,” the mother said.
Together with their parents and their elder sister, Jennylyn and Jerrylyn will go home in Bautista, Pangasinan on April 11.
Like in its two earlier cases of conjoined twins, Tzu Chi Foundation will maintain its support to the twins, especially in terms of their education.