The parents of formerly conjoined twins from Co Antrim have an extra special reason to celebrate this International Women’s Day as their baby girls mark their first birthday.
Babies Annabelle and Isabelle Bateson, who are just one in 2.5 million, were born safely on March 8 last year and separated in September.
They were attached from the chest to the pelvis and shared a bladder, bowel and a fused leg - but had separate hearts.
Read more: 'Life's sort of started now': NI mum's update on formerly conjoined twins
Parents Hannah and Dan Bateson, from Toomebridge, first found out their daughters were conjoined twins in a 12-week scan last year.
In mid-September, the couple revealed that the conjoined twins had been separated. The surgery had originally been planned for the end of May but was put back due to the illness and later delayed again because of staff holidays over the summer months.
Hannah and Dan have been together for 15 years, married for seven and have faced a tough road to becoming parents. They have previously spoken of their struggle to conceive and how they were shocked when they first found out they were pregnant.
Hannah was referred to London’s University College Hospital, where the babies were delivered by a specialist team. From there, they were transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital, the leading specialist hospital in Europe for separating conjoined twins, where the operation took place.
Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Professor Paolo De Coppi from Great Ormond Street performed the separation surgery, which took 18 hours with 30 people involved. The girls were able to return home from hospital in time for Christmas.
Posting on social media on Wednesday, proud mum Hannah said: "Happy 1st Birthday to our very special wee ladies.
"A whole year of Annie and Issie. I can’t believe you’re 1! You have been through so much in this past year but your determination and strength has been an inspiration to everyone that has the joy of knowing you.
"How very appropriate that you were born on International Women’s Day. Celebrating with chocolate pancakes for breakfast! Life lesson… both girls currently ignoring their new toys and playing with an old saucepan and wooden spoon."
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Formerly conjoined twins recovering well after separation surgery
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