While Maria Teresa and Maria de Jesus Quiej-Alvarez were on the
pediatric floor of the UCLA Medical Center last summer, a mirror
was strategically placed in the bed they shared.
For the first time since birth, the two Guatemalan twins were
able to see each other. Maria Teresa, affectionately called
“Teresita,” reached her arms over her head to touch her
sister “Jesita,” who was conjoined to her at the top of
their heads.
After a 23-hour separation surgery last August, the two girls
can now sit face-to-face.
During the six-month preparation and recovery period at UCLA,
the twins found their ways into the hearts of the over 50
physicians and nurses who cared for them.
“They were my shots of love everyday. It was an empty nest
syndrome when they left,” said Margo Goldman, one of the
charge nurses at the Med Center who would visit the girls in their
room three to four times a day.
“When you walk into the room, you can’t help but be
drawn to them ““ they have incredible personality,”
Goldman said.
Dr. Jorge Lazareff, the girls’ lead neurosurgeon, also
developed a fondness for the two Marias.
“I adore these two girls,” he said. “I feel
immensely close to them, but in a similar fashion and intensity as
for all other patients I have been fortunate enough to care
for.”
While conjoined, Maria Teresa, the dominant and more active
twin, would blow kisses to nurses. After the surgery, however,
Maria Teresa’s recovery has proven to be slower than her
sister’s.
Goldman and Lazareff were among the UCLA staff who accompanied
the twins home to Guatemala in May.
On the car ride to the airport, both girls babbled excitedly at
the sight of the passing scenery on the 405 Freeway”“ it was
the first time both girls had been able to look outside a car
window in a seated position.
Upon arrival in Guatemala, the doctors and nurses were excitedly
received by the entire village.
“People were applauding and tears were rolling down their
eyes,” Goldman said. “They felt like God had answered
their prayers.”
The twins’ parents wrote a letter to each person who had
been involved in their daughters’ care, overflowing with
thanks.
The gratitude goes both ways.
“It’s changed my life,” Goldman said.
“I’ve felt an incredible honor to have been part of
their lives and part of the team at UCLA.”
The girls were brought back to UCLA in May after their
conditioned worsened, and welcomed by the UCLA medical staff with
bittersweet feelings.
Goldman and other nurses have also developed a close
relationship with the parents, calling them nightly to give updates
on the girls’ conditions.
On July 9, doctors reported that Maria Teresa showed signs of
neurological setback as a result of a meningitis infection she
contracted in Guatemala in April.
Maria de Jesus, on the other hand, was discharged from the Med
Center early last month and “has absolutely blossomed”
as an active 2-year-old, speaking words in both Spanish and
English.
“You just can’t help but be touched by the miracle
and the outpouring of affection that they give,” Goldman
said.