Benhaffaf: When twins return, all of Cork invited to party

Former conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf will be back home in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork in a matter of weeks.

Their mother Angie has spoken of a joy so overwhelming that it frightened her when doctor’s told her that her little boys’ recovery from their marathon separation surgery on April 7 had gone “unusually” well.

In fact, their recovery has astonished not just their family but doctors at the world-renowned Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London, and seen the boys more than live up to their name of the ‘Little Fighters’.

Speaking from London this morning, mum Angie said doctors would let the family know this week when their miracle boys would be coming home.

“We have been told that a reception will be held at Cork City Hall for our boys on their return. Well, I hope it’s a big room because the whole of Cork is invited!” she said.

Angie revealed how she was both overwhelmed and confused at that first moment when she saw her newly separated boys after their recent marathon surgery.

“We went over to these two cots completely separate from each other and I remember that my mouth dropped open,” she said.

“For the first time ever we were looking at each other saying which one is which, because Hassan was always on the right and Hussein was always on the left,” she added.

The mother-of-four has also told of the painful and anxious period in the days following the boys’ mammoth surgery when Hassan’s heart rate dropped dramatically and soon after Hussein’s lungs collapsed, which saw him being put on an oscillator.

The boys are now thriving and should soon be returning to their native Cork, where they will undoubtedly receive a hero’s welcome.

Angie said she and her family have missed their native Cork and were very much looking forward to coming home. She is also looking forward to dressing her boys in tiny little Cork jerseys which are being sent over with the boys’ names printed on them.

“The boys really have made a miraculous recovery and it is lovely to be able to smile once again,” she said.

Crucially, neither of the boys requires plastic surgery as a consequence of the surgery.

Once the boys are sufficiently recovered, doctors will address the fact that both boys have a leg that did not form properly in the womb. They will both require a prosthetic limb.

“I can (eventually) see them running or whizzing around. I know they can do what other kids do — but probably even better,” she said. “Football, running — they will do it better than other kids.”

She said the support of Irish people had also helped get her family through the ordeal of the surgery. Now, despite financial worries, Angie said as she and her husband Azzedine prepare for the prospect of bringing the lads home, she feels like the “richest person in the world”.

Donations to the Little Fighters Fund can be made through Permanent TSB, St Patrick’s Street, Cork (Sort Code: 99-07-03. Account No: 16556196).

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.