Notice it wed seen it all the time on 42nd street they burned the churches up in harlem like in that spanish civil war the flames were everywhere but no one really cared it always burned up there before ive seen the lights go out on broadway i watched the mighty skyline fall the beets were waiting at the battery note the union went on strike they never sailed at all they sent a carrier out from norfolk and picked the yankees up for free they said that queens could stay they blew the bronx away and sank manhattan out at sea you know those lights were bright on broadway that was so many years ago before we all lived here in florida before the mafia took over mexico there are not many who remember they say a handful still survive to tell the world about the way the lights went out and keep the memory alive [ cheers and applause ] jimmy billy joel and his great band, everybody thank you, billy. A real honor to have you here. Thank you guys. I want to thank tracy morgan, paul shaffer, kelly ripa, Ryan Seacrest and apologize to matt damon, we ran out of time for him. Thank you for watching. Nightline is next. Good night, everybody conjoined twin girls sharing a body but with two healthy hear hearts. Their parents anguish with as one grows stronger and the other weakens. You talk to them and say you are strong and youll get through this. Could they survive separation surgery . Knowing the girls and what theyve gone through, theyre fighters. Tonight the dramatic decision, the risky procedure with two lives on the line. A prayer for. Lindsey davis on one familys emotional journey. Was there ever a part of you that thought this might not work. And the moment that brought everyone to tears. This special edition of nightline, becoming two, will be right back. Streaming and gaming are only as good as your internet. So get the best internet with the 100 fiberoptic network. With fios gigabit connection you get the Fastest Internet available with download speeds up to 940 megs plus tv and phone for just 79. 99 per month online with showtime and multiroom dvr Service Included with a twoyear agreement. And, now, well guarantee your price for two years for over 800 in savings. Get our best new offer. Go to getfios. Com announcer this is a special edition of nightline, becoming two. From the moment they were born, you couldnt see eva without seeing her sister erica, conjoined twins, they have never known life apart. Tonight we take you inside the complicated and risky surgery to separate them. Have we anticipated all the potential risks . Are we prepared to deal with a bad outcome . These two little lives on the line. Was there ever a part of you that thought this might not work. Their journey begins in california in the spring of 2014 with three children almost out of the house, 44yearold ieta sandoval and her husband were looking forward to becoming empty nesters, but little did they know theyre about to receive some life changing news. I was having pain and then i told art about it and hes like, why dont you go to the doctor, i think its your ulcer. To her surprise, she finds out shes pregnant with not one, but two babies. And so what was your reaction . Whoa. Shocked. Shocked. I went okay. He was pretty quiet. Were not kids any more. One month later, the doctor recommend she see a specialist, she assumes its because of her advanced age. He said, you know, we do find some abnormalities, they are twins and they are conjoined. Conjoined twins are a rare phenomenon, their chances of survival even rare, about half of still born and only 35 survive beyond the first day. I think when youre hit with some news like that, he didnt know how to deal with it. I didnt know how to deal with it. You dont know who to turn to. Reporter the so the sandoval reach out to gary hartman. This is ericas pelvis. Reporter an expert in the world of conjoined twins but despite having six successfully separation surgeries under his belt, he says every case presents its own challenges. We told them we didnt know that they could be separated. We werent real optimistic about quality of life. Reporter doctors gave them the option of terminating the pregnancy. Reporter did you ever have a moment where you thought should we do this . I didnt. Reporter what was it that made you think this is never an option to end this pregnancy . I feel it was my faith. We talked about it. Lets give them a chance, you know. If its meant to be its meant to be. Reporter after 33 weeks of pregnancy, the sandovals welcomed two baby girls into the world erica rose and eva victoria, they are joined from the sternum to the pelvis. They had the tubes and covers over your eyes. You cant carry them, theyre very fragile. You question yourself, are we doing the right thing . You talk to them and say you are strong and youre going to get through this. Reporter right from the start, they begin to defy the odds but because they need specialized treatment, they must spend the first few months of their lives in the intensive care unit. When those beautiful girls were born, that family was very scared. Mom would stand over by the window with the bed many feet away and we would just working with her to come over and touch the dwirlz and to know where she could put her hands in a place that wouldnt hurt them. Reporter finally at seven months old, the girls are deemed Strong Enough to go home to sacramento, despite 24 years as a mother, nothing could have prepared her for this. This is her feeding, so were giving her, her eight ounces is what shes getting erica. Reporter even the simply yest of tasks like bath time and putting on clothes become an exercise in patience and creativity. These were the little gowns that were made, trying to keep them dressed, something cute is what i wanted to put on them. Reporter and velcro is a godsend, right . Right. Reporter like other kids, they hit all their first milestones, but they do so together. Hi. Reporter from their first words. Up. Up. Reporter to learning how to stand. Very nice. I appreciate that. Reporter not wanting to leave their specialized care, they must make the nearly three hour journey to palo alto regularly for checkups, even during those uncomfortable car rides, the girls remain upbeat. They begin to develop their own personalities, eva, the talkative one, erica, the observer, but eva also becomes stronger and larger than her sister often dragging even throwing her around. Over time their Health Starts to decline. Reporter whats been the most trying time . The utis, theyre throwing up, theyre dehydrated. Eva. Sisters sick. Dont bounce. The month of july, we were in the hospital just practically the whole month. Reporter erica kept getting weaker and weaker. She was just basically getting smaller and eva was getting bigger so we really have to do something about this. Reporter we concern mounting the family and doctors decide they need to separate the twoyearold girls now. Were you able to explain to them at their age what was going to happen. I would always role play and some magics going to happen and dr. Hartman is going to be your magician. Reporter with only 250 separation surgeries successfully performed in the world the doctors tell the sandoval theres a 30 chance one of the twins could die. Was there ever a part of you that thought this might not work . A very small part. Knowing the girls, how much theyve gone through, theyre fighters. Reporter its finally the morning of the surgery. The twins are their usually bubbly selves. Two hours later when they arrive at the hospital, reality sets in for the msando val, they place their faith in god and their babies in the hands of this team of specialists. The nearly 50 person medical team begins with a prayer for guidance. As we work together, a prayer for strength. Reporter in a nearby room, the sandovals and dozens of family members join in. Our father who art in heaven i felt a calmness come over me that it was going to be okay no matter what, what the outcome was. Reporter after four hours of careful prep, its now time to begin the separation. They made their first incision. Reporter the plan is to separate the organs of the chest first. Theyre hoping that the twins shared leg can be given to erica. As the hours pass the doctors encounter a few surprises. Ericas small intest inned joined evas just before the large intestine. Reporter and that is problem . Actually you can be fine with just a small intestine. Reporter they continue the delicate dance of dividing the girls organs. They were able to split the bladder so they each have a bladder. Reporter every step a daunting task, one false move could spell disaster. The big challenge is then closing that wound, thats the real risky part. Reporter when we come back, ieda and art are given difficult news. Its like a punch in the gut. Reporter the long hours of waiting and that moment that brought everyone to tears. Feel the power of theraflu expressmax. New power. To fight back theraflus powerful new formula to defeat 7 cold and flu symptoms. Fast. So you can play on. Theraflu expressmax. New power. My bladder leakage was making me feel like i couldnt spend time with my grandson. Now depend fitflex has their fastest absorbing material inside, so it keeps me dry and protected. Go to depend. Com get a coupon and try them for yourself. Go to depend. Com then moisturize with isaveeno® skin relief. With oat oil and natural shea butter, it softens and smooths extra dry skin and lasts for 24 hours. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful results® i love you, droolius caesar, but sometimes you stink. Febreze car vent clip cleans away odors for up to 30 days. Because the things you love can stink. Hey, girlfriend. Hows your cafe au lait . Oh, its actually. squeaking of balloon its ver. squeaking im being so serious right now. I really want to know how your coffee is. Its. squeaking of balloon, laughing i had a second balloon goodbye oof, that milk in your coffee was messing with you, wasnt it . Yeah, it happens to more people than you think. Try lactaid, its real milk, without that annoying lactose. Mmm. Good, right . Yeah. Lactaid. Its the milk that doesnt mess with you. And now, try our real sour cream. Its delicious. Announcer this special edition of nightline becoming two continues. Reporter 2yearold conjoined twins ea and eva sandoval are undergoing a tense separation surgery. They have had to carefully coordinate their every move performing a difficult and delicate dance. And then finally. They are two now. Reporter the prayers of their parents, art and ieda, are answered. [ applause ] reporter the twins successfully separated but the work of dr. Hartman and his team is far from over. It seems like the most dramatic piece of the procedure and people are all focused on that but thats just like step 34 of 50 or 60 steps. Reporter the Surgical Team now faces a new hurdle, they realize they dont have enough skin to close the girls wounds, so they turn to their once shared leg they were hoping to give to erica. Its now needed for something more crucial, its skin tissue. They had told us earlier they may have been able to use that third leg and give it to erica but when it came down to it there wasnt enough tissue to cover up erica. That was really hard. Its just like a punch in the gut. Reporter but despite that set back the rest of the surgery goes as planned and after a total of 13 hours. Were good. Reporter the twins are wheeled into recovery. Tell me the first time you saw them after the surgery. I was excited just to know that they were alive still, just to know see them breathing. Reporter after spending their first six nights recovering in separate beds, the girls are reunited. In the weeks that follow. You want a hat . Yeah. Reporter erica the once smaller twin is now thriving. She makes tremendous progress at physical therapy. One, two, three. She has figured out with this totally new body how to be really mobile really fast. Can i put the purple one in . Reporter but the road to recovery is not as easy for eva. Eva, one, two there you go. So with eva shes had a lot of pain and also anxiety with getting up so a lot of our sessions are focused into getting into more of an upright position. Do you want to go see eva . Ever her sisters keeper, erica tries to comfort eva. Its okay. Its okay. Reporter through it all, ieda is mostly parenting solo. With work i could be out on the road all week. Reporter art whos had to keep working full time back at home to cover the medical expenses, drives the three hours every weekend to visit her and the girls. Ill do what i have to do to make things work. Its our life and we we adjust to it and you keep on going. Reporter the hospital becomes like home for the girls who havent been outside in two months. Can you see the clouds moving . What do you see in those clouds . Elephant. You see an elephant in the clou clouds. Look at sister. Listen to my voice. Reporter finally, after three months in the hospital, a breath of fresh air, an ambulance while often a sign of tragedy and fear, on this day is one of hope. All right. You made it got a friend. Reporter erica and eva are making the journey home to sacramento. You ready to go . Yeah, man. Reporter in the care of their local hospital, the girls continue physical therapy. I want you to push it down. Hold on to your wheelchair. Reporter and are fitted for wheelchairs. Hell stay right here with you. There you go. I just think its amazing that were at this point with them with their lives and feeling sick is not going to hold the other one back. Reporter now their free to roam at home. I love it. Reporter where to are the first time erica can go one way and eva can go the other. What is the best part in all of this . I love bringing them home and being a family. Reporter mom and dad are settling into a new routine. Here we go, bye friends. Reporter with every scoot or step, they surpass all expectations. Good job. You want to move your leg closer. Reporter no one was certain they would make it this far. This is actually the first that i seen them both standing up like this. These girls are as healthy as they can be right now. Theyve gone way past what i thought they he could do at this time. Reporter but they still have many challenges ahead. The girls have been on feeding tubes since birth and are just now getting use to eating solid foods. Theyre also not able to be fitted for prosthetic legs. But dr. Hartman is hopeful one day they can. We dont have a prosthesis that would work on a girl who has a complete pelvis, but no hip joint on that side, who knows what were going to have in five years or ten years. So you think walking is not out of the question . Watching what they can do now, i think anything is possible. Reporter the girls are embracing their independence as typical toddlers full of curiosity and mischief. Somebody who is supposed to be taking a nap, got down from her crib. Reporter but that connection they once shared, never far from memory. She will go, my sister was right here and i said, yes, your sister was right there. We do talk about it. She did say that. I gave her my leg, she took my leg. Wheres your leg . Erica took it. Reporter after two years living at one, theyre about to celebrate their third birthday, their first as separate individuals. At a party full of family and friends happy birthday to you. Reporter the girls dress as woody and princess sofia and even though theyre on their own, theyre still inseparatable. I love watching them. So whether they have a disability or not its just being with people and doing kid stuff. Are you ready, erica . Go, eva. Go, go, go reporter the girls fiercely fighting to be just like any other kids. So would you do it all over again . I would. Maybe a little younger. I know that god wont give you something you cant handle. Theres nothing that these girls cant do. They are fully capable of doing anything. Reporter for nightline, im Lindsey Davis in sacramento, california. Our thanks to lindsey. Well be right back. Announcer this special edition of nightline is brought to you by jc penny. 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