Conjoined twins separated at six weeks and given a one-in-a-million chance of survival are vying for a place
Jannat left and Zainab Rahman right thebritishherald
- Zainab and Jannat Rahman faced uncertainty when they were first born
- Doctors had told their parents to consider aborting the conjoined twins
- They were separated at six weeks old in a four and a half hour surgery
They are healthy, happy and looking forward to a promising future with dreams of Oxbridge.
It is a far cry from the terrible uncertainty Zainab and Jannat Rahman faced when they were born – joined at the chest and liver.
Doctors had told their parents to consider aborting the conjoined twins, giving them a one in a million chance of survival.
But the sisters defied the odds, and have now just celebrated their 16th birthdays
Their proud mother Nipa, 36, a nursery nurse, said: ‘Everything we went through before feels like a distant nightmare now. At that time I never dared imagine this day. But to look at them now is amazing. They have achieved so much already and against the worst odds imaginable.’
The girls were separated at six weeks old in a pioneering four-and-a-half hour operation by a 20-strong surgical team at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Today they are promising A* pupils at the top of their school in east London, where they are both prefects.
Zainab hopes to go to Cambridge and
‘I am the luckiest father in the world. When I see these two I feel that God gave me a gift. We are still cherishing it. Every day. They have made us both very proud,’ he said.
‘They are a miracle. And I tell them that they are here for a greater need in this world. To achieve good things and to treat people with respect and kindness.’
