‘Little fighters’ could walk on prosthetics ‘within months’

FORMER conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf could make their first steps with new limbs as early next year.

Mother Angie revealed at a national festival of twins that a specialist US prosthetic doctor who visits Ireland once a year will be examining the 20-month-old boys next month.

“From there we will plan their prosthetic process,” she said. “It’s a slow process. Every child is different. They have to learn to stand first on a prosthetic limb and then they have to learn how to walk on a prosthetic limb that would have a knee joint.

“It’s quite complicated. We weren’t given a time frame but it could happen as soon as next year.”

The boys were born in December 2009 and were separated four months later following a marathon 14-hour operation.

Angie, who travelled from their Cork home with the boys for Saturday’s festival, was helped by TwinFest organisers at Keash, Co Sligo, to carry Hassan and Hussein.

Angie said: “At the moment they are kneeling up on the one knee they do have. They pull themselves up to stand.

“What’s been lovely is I suppose a lot of people expected to see two little boys that looked as if they were through the wars.

“People are so pleasantly surprised to see two healthy little boys. They still have many hurdles and with a lot of love and a lot of support we’ll get them to the next level of walking.”

They were the superstars of the festival where 100 twins, many identical, turned up from all over Ireland. There were triplets, too, and at least one family of quads.

Angie, who calls her twins “little fighters”, said; “I don’t think that people ever realise how much it means to us to see such an outpouring of love for the two boys. It’s very special to us.”

The oldest twins at the festival were Gerard and Alfie Mulligan, brothers from Dromod, Co. Leitrim, who are now in their 90th year. They moaned that last year’s festival, the first, got their age wrong when organisers said they were a year older. Alfie, who owns Hartigans and neighbouring O’Dwyers pubs in Leeson Street off Stephen’s Green, Dublin, said: “We’re still only 89 and a half. That’s very important.”

The youngest twins were Jessie and Lexie Doyle, from Coolaney, Co Sligo, who are 10 weeks old.

They were with their 8-year-old twin cousins, Oisin and Caoimhe Teape, from Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

The youngest triplets were 14-months-olds Caoimhe, Aisling and Sinead Hanley, from Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim.

They were born just a minute apart in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin

Mum Karen, said: “It’s still hard work looking after triplets but they are a blessing and very healthy. But there won’t be any more, I can tell you.”

Identical 17-year-olds Aoife and Orla Heraty, from Westport, Co Mayo, were reluctant to reveal whether they ever fooled their boyfriends. Their mother Pauline said: “They are like chalk and cheese. But they do play tricks on boyfriends. It depends how handsome they are. Orla might instead send Aoife the odd time.”

This year, a donation was made to the Benhaffhaf’s Little Fighters Fund.