A Moment for Delight

The Guatemalan twins born joined at the head and separated last August in a 23-hour operation at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital celebrated their second birthday Friday at the hospital.

This was a doubly joyous occasion because it was the first time Maria de Jesus Quiej Alvarez and Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez had celebrated a birthday as separate individuals, said UCLA Medical Center spokeswoman Roxanne Moster.

Several members of the medical team that participated in the separation surgery shared cupcakes with the twins and with volunteers from Healing the Children, the nonprofit organization that brought the girls to California for the surgery and that threw the birthday party.

Maria de Jesus, who was brought to the hospital for the celebration, wore a pink dress and hat. Maria Teresa donned a similar outfit in lavender.

Their dresses matched the flowers decorating their birthday cakes. The celebration took place in Maria Teresa’s hospital room, which was adorned with balloons and banners, Moster said.

Maria de Jesus smiled when she heard the voices of her parents in Guatemala over a speakerphone, wishing the two a happy birthday and a speedy recovery, Moster said.

Moster described Maria de Jesus as “very lively and all smiles. She had a twinkle in her eyes and gave her sister a couple of birthday kisses.”

In January, the girls returned home to Belen, Guatemala.

In April, Maria Teresa was hospitalized in Guatemala City after contracting E. coli meningitis.

The following month Maria de Jesus suffered a convulsion.

Both were brought to California again on May 22 for further treatment.

Dr. Jorge Lazareff, chief of the team of more than 50 physicians and nurses who took part in the twins’ operation, later said that Maria de Jesus’ convulsion seemed to have been an isolated incident. Since her discharge in June, she has been staying at the home of a volunteer for Healing the Children.

Maria Teresa is recuperating in the hospital from recent surgery to implant a fluid-draining shunt in her head.

A discharge date for Maria Teresa has yet to be determined.