Siamese Twins in ‘clear all roads’ Drama

Siamese Twins in ‘clear all roads’ Drama
Siamese twins,joined at the chest and born prematurely to a young wife on holiday,were raced 130 miles from Lincoln to London last night.
The twins—girls,with a combined weight of 8 lb.—were taken to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.They were said to be in “fair” condition.
Police in five counties had joined in an emergency link-up to speed the ambulance.The order went out:All road junctions must be kept clear.
Inside the ambulance the twins were tucked up in an incubator.A doctor and two nurses watched over them.
Outside,police cars and motor-cycle outriders buzzed around in relays until,after three hours 25 minutes,the ambulance reached Great Ormond Street.
A CHANCE
A doctor at the Lincoln maternity home where they were born yesterday said:“Apart from being a bit premature,they are reasonably satisfactory.”
They were transferred,he said,because specialized treatment offered them the best chance of survival.
He added,“I think it will be very difficult to separate them.”
The mother,who is in her 20’s,was an emergency admission at the hospital.Last night she was “pretty well” .
She and her husband—they have no other children—were on holiday and are believed to be from Essex.The hospital said the parents did not want their names disclosed.
The doctor said:“We had no idea the babies were joined until they were delivered.”
And that,for ambulance-men Ernest Skelton,aged 40,and Eric Toyne,25,meant a hectic dash to London.
At 5.25.P.M.a call came through to their station.
The ambulance loaded an incubator—always kept heated at the ambulance station—and was soon heading south.
Drivers Skelton and Toyne,both married with two children,took turns at the wheel.
HIGH-SPEED
They reached the AL at Newark,14 miles from Lincoln and raced down the dual-carriageway,eating up the 120 miles to Hatfield.
At 8.20 they stopped for petrol at Hatfield.
At 8.35—15 minutes and 15 miles later—Herforshire police handed them over to the Metropolitan Police for the final lap.Most of that was covered at speeds reaching 70 miles an hour.
James Wilkinson,Express medical reporter,writes:Siamese twins occur in only one in 50,000 births.But as the majority are still-born,the chances of live Siamese twins being born are much rarer.
Doctors will perform many tests and study X-rays before deciding exactly how they should be separated.
The last separation operation in Britain was in June 19,1964 at St Bartholomew’s Hospital,London,on the year-old Siamese twin daughters of Mr and Mrs James Fenwick,of Nottingham,who were joined at the head.
One of the girls died half an hour after the operation.The other survived.