Published 6th Sep, 2023

By Tola Owoyele

Every pregnant mother’s prayer is to birth a healthy baby. The expectant father would also often join his pregnant wife in praying against complications once the appointed moment comes.

While the mother physically carries the pregnancy in her womb, the father would jointly and emotionally carry the sharp pains — morning sickness, bladder and bowel problems, incessant bouts of fatigue, headaches, indigestion and heartburn for an average period of nine months.

And when the child is successfully given birth to, all the fear, nerves and stress subside. The relief that is felt is always out of this world.

Suddenly, both parents would begin to experience a mixture of surprise, disbelief, awe, happiness and gratitude. The next headache for the parents would then be how to nurture the baby from infancy to adulthood.

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The picture that has been painted above is for parents who have given birth based on what they had envisioned. However, the lives of Fatai and Tosin Lawal, an Ibadan-based couple, were abruptly altered the moment they were told through a scan that they were about to birth a set of conjoined twins.

CONJOINED. NO. YES.

Conjoined twins, surgery, pregnancy, — Tosin Carrying the Twins in the One Room Apartment the Lawals Live in

The Lawals reside in the Aremo area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The house in which they live is an old, worn-out, traditional one-storeyed building that was once a symbol of status in the early and mid-60’s.

The building, which had seen decades, boasted of window frames constructed from wood and a rusted roofing sheet attached to the top to keep out excessive sunlight.

What should be a balcony on the first floor was demarcated by another window-sized wood that prevented anyone standing there from falling to the ground floor.

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More importantly, the building sagged in a sitting position due to the number of decades and people it had had to outlive.

Tosin Lawal was sitting on a mattress, and in an unfurnished room that had stacks of clothes stationed in different angles, when FIJ paid a visit to the couple.

She was carrying Rodiat and Moridat, the conjoined girls, in her arms when she exchanged greetings with this reporter.

“In June 2022, when I was about five months pregnant, I decided to go for an ultrasound scan. It was at this period that I was told I would be giving birth to a set of twins,” Tosin told FIJ in an interview granted in Yoruba.

“My excitement was, however, cut short when I was told that the twins were conjoined. I was dejected when the result of the scan was revealed to me.”

When the 40-year-old palm oil seller returned for a second scan, the result that was revealed to her elevated her spirits.

“When I went for a second scan, I was told the twins were still very much alive and healthy, I was told that they were no longer conjoined,” Tosin said. “I was very happy and all the fears I had been nursing immediately disappeared.”

A third test to validate the result of the second test became necessary. “When I went for a third scan, the lab scientist first told me that it was just one baby he saw,” said Tosin. “After I told him that it had been earlier confirmed to me that I was carrying a set of twins, he did the test a second time and then said I was indeed carrying two babies. He then added that they were separated from each other.”

AN OCTOBER TO REMEMBER

When it was almost time for Tosin to be delivered of the babies, the Lawals decided to move to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State.

“On getting to UCH, I went for another scan but the result was not revealed to me,” Tosin said.

“When it was time for delivery on October 31, 2022, a C-section had to be carried out on me by doctors before the twins could come out. Even in my exhaustion, I saw that the twins were in a conjoined state and I was very sad.

“After the delivery, we spent nine months at the hospital with the twins, hoping help would come our way, and a lasting solution would be found so that they can be separated in a safe and sound manner.

“Unfortunately, help never came our way.”

PERSONAL BELONGINGS SOLD, BUT DEBTS PERSIST

Fatal Lawal standing at the entrance of their house — Fatai Lawal standing at the entrance of their house

When FIJ interviewed Fatai Lawal, the father of the twins, he said his daily activities and business had been halted since the birth of the twins.

He also said he sold his grinding machine to cover a few medical expenses at the hospital.

“When we did the first scan, we were told the twins were conjoined. When we did the next two scans, we were told they had already separated. This brought a great deal of relief to us and we thought our lives would once again go back to normal,” Lawal said.

Lawal said he first sensed something was wrong when two hospitals that should normally have admitted his wife referred them to UCH when it was time for delivery.

Lawal's grinding shop is now empty after he sold his machine — Lawal’s grinding shop is now empty after he sold his machine

“It then became quite shocking when we realised that the twins were birthed in a conjoined state at the time of delivery. At that point, it became clear that the hospitals that referred us to UCH already knew the state of the twins,” said Lawal.

“When this matter started, I had had to sell some of my belongings, including my most functional grinding machine. Despite this, we have continued to incur more expenses.

What is Left of Fatai lawal's Shop — What is Left of Fatai lawal’s Shop

“As we speak, I have spent more than N3 million since the twins were delivered. Everything is now at a standstill. I can no longer work and their mother can not also go about her petty trading business. We spent all our life savings at the hospital.

“They said we would have to take the twins to India for a surgery and we don’t even have a single penny to feed on presently as a family.”

When Lawal was asked if the doctors told him the cost of the needed surgery, he answered in the negative.

Apart from the set of twins, the couple also have seven other children to fend for.

The small room with no furniture where FIJ interviewed Tosin in fact houses the entire family of 11.

MEETING WITH DOCTOR LAWAL

University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State

From the Lawal’s residence in Aremo, FIJ, in a bid to find out about the cost of the surgery, visited UCH, Ibadan, to talk to its officials.

After more than five hours at the hospital, officials at the units visited by FIJ said they were not in a position to state what the surgery would cost.

Dr. Taiwo Lawal, a consultant and paediatric surgeon, who was aware of the matter, said: “I am going to speak on the issue involving the conjoined twins in a hypothetical fashion because the hospital has not authorised me to speak on it to anyone.

“If the babies share organs, it could mean that one has one kidney, and the other has a kidney as well. That is compatible with life.

“However, there are organs that are single, like the liver, for instance. So, if they share a liver, it means the liver would have to be split during surgery. This is because the liver is an organ that is capable of regenerating itself, and on its own.

“If conjoined twins share a heart, however, it would be technically difficult to say the heart would go to one of the babies and the other would not have a heart. Those kinds of babies cannot be separated.

“Separation of conjoined twins is done in Nigeria and there have been successes in many places in Nigeria. This particular case has its uniqueness and that is why a recommendation was made that an operation may have to be carried out outside of Nigeria.”

Unlike the other officials this reporter had spoken to, and despite running a busy schedule, Dr. Lawal was quite welcoming, calm and resourceful all through the conversation.

RODIAT AND MORIDAT, JOINED IN THE ABDOMEN

The Request Letter Signed by Fatai Lawal

Rodiat and Moridat, the conjoined twins, appeared to be joined together at the abdominal region. Apart from having separate single limbs, they also share a common limb. This means they both share three limbs.

Knowing the surgery cost is in fact not a straight forward procedure.

After the conversation with Dr. Lawal, this reporter and the twins’ father were eventually told that the only way of knowing what the surgery would cost was to officially write to the chairman of the hospital’s medical advisory committee requesting for a medical report on the conjoined twins.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME

Once the medical report is issued, it would be forwarded to relevant specialist hospitals abroad for assessment and subsequently an eventual costing would be done.

The moment a figure in terms of the actual cost is arrived at, it would then be communicated to the twins’ parents.

A request letter was written, signed and submitted at the hospital’s Chief Medical Director’s (CMD) office by the children’s father on Friday.

One of the officials, who asked not to be named, promised that the request would receive urgent attention and the medical report would be out in no time.

Medically, it is advise d that conjoined twins are separated within the first six to nine months of birth. Delayed separations may lead to permanent post-birth deformities for the children.

Rodiat and Moridat are now 10 months old. This means time is of the essence.

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