Bhutanese conjoined twins Nima and Dawa relax after returning to the Children First Foundation Miracle Smiles Retreat in Kilmore. Picture: Alex Coppel
VIC News
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THEY still have huge hurdles they are fighting their way through, but conjoined twins Nima and Dawa are all smiles as they soak in new-found freedom outside hospital.
The 14-month-old Bhutanese sisters were discharged from the Royal Children’s Hospital on Monday so they can continue treatment and build their strength in the peaceful and relaxing surrounds of the Children First Foundation’s Kilmore retreat.
The twins were scheduled for complex separation surgery last Friday, but it was postponed to allow their health to improve.
Nima and Dawa will receive medication and nutrients via a drip 24 hours a day to build their strength and overcome an illness picked up on their marathon travel to Melbourne from the Himalayas.
Their mother Bhumchu Zangmo said via a translator: “If the operation is not happening, it is better to be out here with more open air, nice trees and it is not suffocating. In this region it is much more peaceful and isolated than at home. In my village it is more crowded. This is beautiful.
“The girls are more happy here, they have all this space to play. In hospital it is just a single bed.”