Leaning On Prayer as New Mom Finds Out the Unexpected

“He couldn't detect two separate babies, like two separate sacks, for sure. And so, he looked at me and said, “it's almost like they're conjoined,” said Sandy Fuller. At their 9 week ultrasound Sandy, her husband Jesse along with their little girl Emi were surprised to find they were having twins. An ultrasound three weeks later revealed concerning news.

Sandy remembers, “When I first found out that they were conjoined, . . . I was terrified. I was scared. All the scenarios popped up in my head of  - can they be separated? That was a big question. Can they be separated?”

Early scans showed two hearts and other vital organs. With the connection at their abdomen, the potential for separation looked positive. Jesse recalls, “The prayer shifted from, you know, hopefully they're not conjoined. You know, they're just close contact to now. Okay. We know they are.”

Sandy adds, “All the fear was gone. And that was a prayer that I also prayed like,  “God, give me peace. Help me get through this to know you gave me these girls, and you knew from the beginning they were going to be conjoined. And I trust you.”
Jesse continues, “So the prayer instantly for them was, you know, equal growth, minimal connections, you know, internally.”

Dr. Alice King their pediatric surgeon remembers the Fullers, “They were incredibly thoughtful about everything that was happening. They already had a toddler girl, and they were trying to to understand how this diagnosis was going to impact their family as a whole. And I know multiple times they, they commented on how they put their faith in us and they put their faith in God. And actually, they knew that everything was going to be fine.”

Sandy states, “Our goal was to just pray for a healthy pregnancy, that everything can be okay, that I can grow these babies and make it to 35 weeks. That was our goal.”
Sandi’s pregnancy progressed very well and at 35 weeks she was scheduled to have a C section. “At that point, we had so many people praying for us that morning. I wasn't scared. I was ready.”  Jesse adds, “Obviously we're excited to meet them. We've seen numerous scans over early stages of the pregnancy you know. So, we've seen them on the screen for month after month after month.”

The hugging twins were born at an equal weight of 5lbs 1.7oz each, with no health issues.

Sandy comments, “It was amazing. Like, I just I couldn't believe it. Like, wow. My body carried these two perfect humans, and here they are finally. And we prayed so hard for so long for everything to happen so smoothly and perfect. And and it was just that, I mean, they were they were perfect.”

Jesse smiles, “It was good because, you know feel them, kick around for months and hiccups and all that, and you finally lay eyes on them. You know, after all that time, it was a great feeling for sure.”

Sandy continues, “It was scary at first to hold them because you didn't really know. I mean, I've always only known to hold one little baby on their back and that was normal. So to have to adjust to holding two little babies was was really hard. But eventually we were able to get it down and by the end of it we were professionals at holding two little babies.”

Ella and Eliza remained in the NICU for the next two months, allowing them time to grow and develop. Meanwhile preparations were being made for the separation surgery.
Sandy says, “So the game plan was we would just separate them. Liver specialists would come in, separate the liver, and then, each girl would go to their own O.R., and it was a 16 hour estimated surgery.”

Just a little over two months after they were born, the surgery to separate the twins was set.

Jesse’s sister created a prayer chain ensuring the Fullers were covered in prayer the entire day.  Sandy recalls, “Every ten minutes we had a special family friend praying for us, lifting us up” Jesse adds, “it's out of our hands and it’s in His.”

Settling in for a long day at the hospital, the Fullers were pleasantly surpised when Dr. King came out much earlier than expected.

“With the many, many steps in their surgery, everything just went absolutely perfectly. The day that they were getting separated,” says Dr. King. “And so the 16 hour procedure was half the time. And we were able to just let them know. You know, your girls are in separate rooms now and they’re doing great.”

Sandy siles, “To hold my baby finally, after three months on her back was surreal. It was everything that I’ve been praying for. And it was, it was wonderful.”

Dr. King warmly states, “I do remember praying with them. We were all there to to reach the same goal. And I think that faith actually helped them get through a very long hospital stay, a very long recovery period. The fuller twins are doing so well. They're normal, beautiful girls. And that's what I think is going to be the case for the rest of their lives is just normal, healthy little girls.”

“We were definitely thankful. I mean, that He answered the prayers,” says Jesse.
Sandy reflects, “I was so grateful that He gave me the strength to navigate this journey because it was so hard. And to get to that point of it's finally happened and worth the end of it. It was it was almost like a sense of relief, like, oh, He's got me. Yeah. And we did it, and we're here. And I was grateful.”