Mum Chelsea has explained why she and her partner Nick decided not to separate their nine-year-old conjoined twins, Callie and Carter. The family from Idaho appeared on This Morning on Friday, 2 October, with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
During the interview, Chelsea revealed that when she was 8 weeks and 3 days pregnant, doctors told her and Nick their babies were joined together. She recalled: “The initial reaction from the doctors were just really like quiet at first, and once they came in, they told us our kids were stuck together. We were just shocked, we didn’t know what to think, we didn’t know how to feel. It was complete shock.”
Defying the odds after birth
Callie and Carter were born in 2017 and were initially given just 24 hours to live, but they have defied medical expectations. Chelsea described the first day after their birth, saying she could not see them for about 18 hours because she was recovering from surgery. She added: “The first 24 hours were really hard because I didn’t see them until about 18 hours, I was a little worried that I didn’t have enough time with them. But they just kept thriving and kept going, and eventually, I was able to see them and we were able to tell them home.”
When the twins were three days old, doctors advised Chelsea and Nick not to separate them. Chelsea explained: “We had the big decision to make to see if we were going to separate them while they were little girls, so they didn’t remember but we decided to ultimately give them the option when they became older and understood the risks.”
Future separation remains a possibility
The couple previously appeared on This Morning when Callie and Carter were born, and at that time Chelsea said a possible future separation would always be considered. She said then: “I know definitely it will always be there. Whether it be a medical issue is my main worry or the point that the girls are like 'we don't want to be together anymore'. Of course we'll have to see if there's a medical issue that arises or if the girls do want to be separated we would consider a separation for their health. It's their lives and they're living it, we're just aiding in the whole thing.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
