it s a kind of second birth for them to go to america because when people say america here, it s great. it means a lot. but ibrahim will not go himself. this simple man chooses to remain in egypt to look after his family and place his faith in nasser. translator: i had to trust nasser because he loves my boys, not like other children but as if they are a gift from god. and so in june 2002, dr. nasser, dr. mamdouh, and their medical team take the twins onto an airplane bound for a brave, new world. then, arriving in dallas with his team and two tired little boys, nasser takes a part of this from his own children and presents the whole vexing case to dr. kenneth salyer.
problem. they can t afford an apartment. ibrahim needs a job. but in just five weeks a generous donor finds an apartment for them and puts it under the twins name. he also gives ibrahim a job. life for the twins is a constant series of visits to the hospital for testing. they re now under the care of dr. mamdouh, who accompanied them to dallas and has been with them the entire time. i m worried a lot about their bone growth and bone healing because the cranium, the brain tissue is a very weak tissue and even the slightest murmur might cause an injury. in some ways the boys development is about two years behind children their own age, and the surgery did leave signs of disability. push. good. mohamed does not have full use of his right hand.
are you doing good? yes. squeeze hard, hard, hard, hard, hard. wow. a, b, c, d, e, f, g a year later, in june 2007, much has changed since the twins return home. sabah and ibrahim have a new baby, and the whole family is now together, living in cairo. periodically, the twins still get c.a.t. scans to see how their skulls are healing. i see them every four to five months now and examine them for their development of the skills and mainly for their head to see if there s any weak points or any complication present. most of the head is covered by bone, but still there are some defects, especially in mohamed. dr. mamdouh believes the twins will probably need more surgery in the future to cover
nasser s colleague, pediatric surgeon dr. mamdouh aboulhassan contacts his friend, dr. kenneth salyer in texas. they had met when mamdouh attended a training session at the world craniofacial foundation, a nonprofifit organization in dallas hospital in texas. salyer heads up the foundation. and i sent him an e-mail with their photos. i just want to ask him, have you seen conjoined twins like that and how can we separate them? and from this started this long journey of hope. the foundation agreed to have them evaluated. but of course even if they could be separated, the boys family could never afford the price. this could cost $2 million, maybe more. in a good month ibrahim could count on perhaps $50. so it makes all the difference when the foundation decides the doctors will donate their services. and for sabah and ibrahim, that means there is hope for their little boys.
life for the twins is a constant series of visits to the hospital for testing. they re now under the care of dr. mamdouh, who accompanied them to dallas and has been with them the entire time. i m worried a lot about their bone growth and bone healing because the cranium, the brain tissue is a very weak tissue and even the slightest murmur might cause an injury. in some ways the boys development is about two years behind children their own age, and the surgery did leave signs of disability. push. good. mohamed does not have full use of his right hand. ahmed is unable to walk on his own. good boy. three times a week dr. samy nasseh volunteers his services, gives the twins physical therapy. good boy, ahmed. he believes ahmed will walk on his own but it will take a long time. and stand up. he needs the assistance of two