Amid Ethics Debate, Conjoined Twins Celebrate First Birthday
(AOL News) Twin brothers Kameron and Kaydon Hayes celebrated their first birthday this week. They both love the character Elmo on "Sesame Street." They smile. Sometimes Kaydon babbles, trying to talk. Holding hands, they kick happily when they play and often poke each other in the face.
Born at 37 weeks weighing a combined total of 10 pounds, the boys -- who weren't expected to live -- share more than a special bond; they share a liver and a malformed heart.
Their birth and subsequent medical care touched off debate among doctors and medical ethics experts who said the conjoined twins are destined to die.
But their mother, Brianna Manns, pushed onward, refusing to sign a "Do not resuscitate" order in the boys' early months. She now is focused on their everyday growth.
"Kaydon, he's very laid back. He'll sleep all day if you let him. Kameron is very curious, social as well. He has a temper -- knows what he likes and what he doesn't like," Manns told WGN-TV in Chicago, before the twins celebrated their first birthday Thursday.
"Even though they are conjoined, they are two separate babies to me," Manns told the Chicago Tribune for a story published today. "They are very different in every type of way."
Medical experts said the twins can't be separated and aren't candidates for a heart transplant because of their complicated anatomy.
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