{"id":264757,"date":"2022-03-21T14:42:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T19:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=264757"},"modified":"2022-03-20T22:46:01","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T03:46:01","slug":"conjoined-twins-successfully-separated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/conjoined-twins-successfully-separated\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents of conjoined twins successfully separated say abortion was never an option"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Dwight and Stephanie Castle say having conjoined twins is the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Yet for them, abortion was never an option, and they continue to have faith that God will pull them through.<\/p>\n

The Castles were already parents to three children when they learned they were expecting again; weeks later, they discovered they were having twins. But at their 12-week appointment, they learned they were expecting conjoined twins. \u201cWe didn\u2019t say anything for the longest time,\u201d Dwight, a pastor, told WORLD<\/a>. \u201cWe just wept.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abortion was \u201cnot even a thought in their head,\u201d but that didn’t mean they weren’t scared. \u201cI was trying to believe the goodness of God in this,” Dwight continued. “I believe in His power, His ability to save, His sovereignty over everything. But how was this good?\u201d<\/p>\n

For Stephanie, the support they had from friends was what helped them get through it. \u201cAnd that\u2019s how it\u2019s been,\u201d Stephanie said. \u201cWhen we\u2019re weak, others around us are strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, the Castles were referred to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), a facility that receives referrals for conjoined twins from all around the world. At 34 weeks, the twins \u2014 Elizabeth and Susannah \u2014 were born. After the birth, AL.com reported<\/a> that the girls had two separate hearts, making the chances for separation easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have a lot of help. [God] gives us new mercies each day and He\u2019s faithful to do that. We just try to take it a day at a time and remember His faithfulness every step of the way and it really does fuel us to trust Him,\u2019’ Dwight told AL.com after the girls were born. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t guarantee they\u2019ll live. It doesn\u2019t guarantee the separation will happen or that it will go really well. There\u2019s a lot of hopeful indications for all of those things, but our hope has to ultimately be in Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

By seven months, the Castles were preparing for separation. They hadn’t left CHOP since the girls were born on April 22.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Love Them Both: 6 pro-life ways to help a friend who\u2019s considering abortion<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just starting to kind of see their personalities come out,\u201d Stephanie told Fox 8<\/a>. \u201cSusannah is the feisty one, she kind of does everything first. She talked first, smiled first, she was the bigger one for a while. And then Elizabeth was the one who had trouble gaining weight and so she\u2019s kind of been the more reserved baby. But in the last couple of weeks, she has found her voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowing the separation surgery was just weeks away gave the Castles a lot of mixed emotions. “We\u2019ve been looking forward to this, it\u2019s a huge, kind of central piece of this puzzle we\u2019ve been waiting for,\u201d Dwight said. \u201cBut it\u2019s very risky, life-threatening risk level.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 14 long hours, the doctor came to greet them. “He spent the next 45 minutes trying to describe and draw what he had just done in separating our girls, really saving their lives,\u201d Dwight said. \u201cHe told us it went well overall, but what he had to do to save them would have lasting effects.\u201d Stephanie added, \u201cI just wasn\u2019t prepared. They were so swollen and lifeless. They looked like corpses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, though, the twins began to heal. Susannah was cleared to come home first. \u201cYou should have seen her reaction to cars,” Stephanie joked about her first day outside of the hospital. And just last week, Elizabeth was able to join the rest of her family at home, too \u2014 something they credit to God.<\/p>\n

“After 323 days in the hospital, and a whopping 338 days after we left home to start this crazy journey, all seven of us are FINALLY under one roof (and that roof is our home)!!” the Castles wrote on their Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All praise and thanks be to Jesus, who has sustained us every single step of the way, even when it has looked like we were too low. Which has been more often than we would like to admit or think about. This journey is far from over, and to be honest, we are ALMOST too tired to really appreciate this day like we should. Almost. But not quite. Today, as tired as we are and as overwhelmed as we feel, we are rejoicing. God has been SO good to our family and we are absolutely overjoyed to finally have Susannah AND Elizabeth home with us!! The prayers and the love of God\u2018s people, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the incredible medical care from the best, and great mercy from the Lord\u2019s hands have brought us to this point.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dwight and Stephanie Castle say having conjoined twins is the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Yet for them, abortion was never an option, and they continue to have faith that God will pull them through. The Castles were already parents to three children when they learned they were expecting again; weeks later, they discovered they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":212593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[9455,3473],"tags":[19,15402,3003,16410,16411,12097],"yoast_head":"\nParents of conjoined twins say abortion was never an option<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dwight and Stephanie Castle say having conjoined twins is the hardest thing they've ever done. 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