MINNEAPOLIS - Sixteen days after the birth of her conjoined twins, a Minnesota mother finally had the chance to hold her surviving daughter.
Amber McCullough, of Hastings, gave birth to the two girls via cesarean section at 32 weeks in late August at a hospital in Colorado. Because the girls shared an abdomen, liver and intestinal tract plus they only had three legs, her daughter Olivia did not survive.
Olivia's heart was also unsalvageable, having only a single ventricle.
Her surviving daughter, Hannah, had her own set of challenges after losing a lot of blood during the separation.
But on Tuesday, a smiling Amber wrote an update on her GoFundMe page describing the moment -- 16 days after her birth -- she was finally able to hold Hannah in her arms.
"It was amazing," she writes. "You could have knocked me over with a a feather. It instantly brought tears to my eyes. On her 16th day of life I finally held my little girl. It took three people to move her to me with all her tubes but I got to hold her! I'm still so elated."
Amber writes that Hannah also had her breathing tube removed.
"I cried with her as I finally got to hear her little amazing voice! It is the most beautiful sound to hear your child," she wrote. "I have to think of how many times I must have taken it for granted when my son was a baby screaming and crying in the middle of the night loathing sleep deprivation. I appreciate and take such glory in hearing her voice in a way I can't describe after having to watch her cry silently with a tube in her mouth. Even if it keeps my up all night, it will always touch my heart with a very particular joy."
Hannah is now on a CPAP to help her breathe and Amber writes that she's hopeful she'll be able to move to a less constricting breathing device soon. Hannah's also been able to try some milk in her feeding tubes.
To follow her story and Hannah's progress, click here.
Amber said she's still working on memorial plans for Olivia. She also hopes to create memorial fund in Olivia's name that would help the Children's Hospital of Colorado Maternal Fetal Medicine Department -- a place she credits for giving both her daughters any kind of chance.
