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The pics are not uploading - the aricle loses a bit of uuumf but I hope you eill enjoy it nononetherless... and as soon as the pics can upload I will put them up!
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The part of the show that I will focus on I strongly feel deserves to be on my Little Miracles blog as it features true miracles of little ones. And it made me sob.
Maliyah and Kendra Conjoined twins, Maliyah and Kendra, are successfully separated when they are 4 years old… These girls just know how to tear your heartstrings! I recently went to a Sales and Marketing training and the trainer advised us to give the clients what they want – the warm fuzzy feeling! So he admitted to loathing children but will cuddle, coo and snuggle to little kids when he is selling something to make the mothers all goo-goo gaga and buy whatever he is selling! And then he would slowly walk to the bathrooms and vomit! I was terribly shocked by the admission and as I watched the twins last night – I asked myself; who truly doesn’t feel the warm fuzzy feeling when looking at children? Why? They are the most beautiful and wonderful little miracles! What makes me so vulnerable to what kids do and other people indifferent?
Anyways, back to the twins – the parents, Erin and Jake, were told they were having conjoined twins during a routine check-up. What emotions do you go through when you are told your unborn children are conjoined? What decisions can you make? Who do you turn to for support because your partner is also in shock and might not be able to fully support you? Do you guys remember Mpho le Mphonyana? Which one survived? What happened to the surviving twin? There was even a song dedicated to them! Who sang that song? Was it Brenda? If I recall, the mother was a single mom, neh? She was a strong woman!
After 4 years of the girls performing miracle after miracle – the doctors had told the parents their twins shared a large intestine, bladder, liver and single kidney, each has 2 arms but just one leg and would not be able to walk – the twins found a way to crawl, stand and eventually walk! At this point of the show, I needed a basketful of tissues… It was too much! Those kids are just adorable. The whole time the suspense was killing me if the surgery they had was a success!! Oprah was pulling all the stops to make me sob! Well, the parents finally decided to go through the 26 hour surgery – not sure if the twins will survive or not. This kind of surgery had never been done before. The twins cried their hearts out at the theater entrance – saying they did not want to go – and I was just gone, how painful was it for the parents to know they made a choice that could change all their lives forever! The twins or one of them might not survive, how do you live with the knowledge that you could have just let them be and they would have been fine? Or you don’t do it and regret it later in life when the kidney failed that maybe you should have done the surgery?
Maliyah and Kendra after surgery!
The surgery was a success – Kendra has the kidney, Maliyah goes for dialysis three times a week and Erin has to go through a couple more tests then she will donate her kidney to Maliyah. They will still go for further surgery as each girl has one leg and no prosthetic.
Herrin family on the Oprah couch! The gals are happy, full of joy and energy and are getting along perfectly. Maliyah even announced that they go to school! So they attend pre-school twice a week. Erin has given birth to a set of twins, AGAIN, and they were fine. Imagine the stress of being told you are going to have twins after going through the conjoined twins’ saga. Oh my Word!! Anyways, the pregnancy for the second set of twins, Austin and Justin, was easier and they are all doing well with big sister, 7 year old Courtney. If you wanna know how Maliyah and Kendra are doing, they have a website www.herrintwins.com
Patrick and his father, Patrick.
The next guest still makes me feel emotional, Patrick – he is an inspiring young man! He was born with no eyes, and a birth defect that doesn’t allow him to stretch his arms and legs. He plays the trumpet in a marching band; attends the University of Louisville and started playing the piano before he turned two! His parents were obviously devastated when he was born, the mother admitted to crying for almost 4 months! I would too but the child still needs you, so you get up and get moving! Anyways, the dreams they had of watching their first-born son run through a football match, play baseball were snatched from them but they needed to give their child a great life. They started noticing his musical talent and he miraculously started playing the piano and even taking requests! I so wish I could put up the precious video clip of Patrick as a toddler taking a request from his dad for “Twinkle Twinkle little star”.
Patrick in the marching band! Patrick’s father, Patrick works the through the night for UPS, then sleeps a couple of hours before attending classes with his son. He also helps Patrick “march” with the marching band; they are the only 2 people marching band member I have ever heard of. This father doesn’t see anything he does for his son as a sacrifice; but a blessing that allows him to spend time with his son. How many of us can say that about taking care of an aging person? Hhhmmmm! You know when Patrick uttered the words that he sees his disability as an ability I was now beyond saving, I needed an entire Kleenex factory! He says he views sight as a disability because people that can see cannot beyond seeing hair length or the clothes that people wear; to him certain words like “black” and “white” are adjectives that have no meaning whatsoever because he sees the inside of a person; the love within a person. We can learn a lot from this young man! Most of us always focus on the things we can’t do. We are physically capable of doing almost everything but do not see beyond what we can’t do.
Schneider with the baby he delivered! 11 year old Schneider assisted his aunt to give birth; calmly with his pre-nursing class information is worth mentioning. I will do a full blog article on him when Oprah does her Marketing/advertising show. This child is an inspiration for me to get myself registered for some basic first aid classes! But I got to ask, Why do darkies overdress their kids!? And give them weird names? This child was wearing a full suit to meet Oprah! He reminded me of a scene in E’Lollipop! Ha ha ha!
Book SelectionOprah had some Good news too... Her next book club selection. I would love the TVSA bloggers to read the book with me - I know I am pushing my luck! But guys and gals, we gotta read some books! The book is "The measure of a man" by Sidney Poitier. King K who had silently sat to watch Oprah with me, not saying a word while I wept – sat up and said “She is abusing him”. I was gob smacked with utter disbelief that he seemed kinda disconcerted that Oprah’s good news also included a dinner with Sidney. As King K already insists I misrepresent him on TVSA anyway, he insisted that Oprah abuses retired old people like Nelson Mandela who declared in his 7th retirement attempt speech “Don’t call me, I’ll call you!”. He insists that Oprah still calls Mandela and Sidney when the poor old people need to rest. Eish! My husband just has his way of “seeing” Oprah.