Hope For a Double Miracle
Daily News
First steps ahead for brave palsy twins
Of all the dreams John and Angela Gillen had for their adorable twin daughters, there is one they've wished for every day.
They simply want Brianna and Sascha, victims of cerebral palsy, to be able to walk.
Now, thanks to a miraculous surgery last week, the parents of the Scarsdale girls, who turn 4 next Sunday, can look forward to watching their daughters take their first independent steps within the next six months.
Cerebral p[alsy, a devastating brain disorder which made the girls' leg muscles constantly stiff and tight, has prevented Brianna and Sascha from even taking a step without a walker or someone steadying them.
“They crawl, They even pull themselves up along furniture,” said Angela Gillen,38, a medical secretary and personal trainer.
“They love to dance, believe it or not. They do it on their knees.”
There's no cure for cerebral palsy – but there is hope for these braves. little girls who count the Disney princesses and coloring books among their favorite things.
Last Wednesday, Montefiore pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Rick Abbott performed consecutive nerve surgeries on the twins in side-by-side operating rooms.
Brianna went first, Sascha a few hours later.
On each girl, Abbott and Dr. Juan Alzate tested nerves running from both legs up the spinal cord, and cut select sensory nerves at the cord's base to end faulty signals to the brain, a procedure known as rhizotomy.
Abbott let Alzate finish Brianna's surgery so he could start on Sascha – and avoid keeping the twins apart for too long.
“They experience separation anxiety. They want to know what's going on with their sibling”, said Abbott. This is the doctor's second case of twin rhizotomies, but the first time doing both the same day.
“The hardest part was having to bring my daughter into the (operating room) and tell her it's okay”, said Angela Gillen. “My husband” - John Gillen,39, a network administrator – “did one, I did the other”.
Abbott has performed over 500 rhizotomies, but says only 30% of cerebral palsy patients qualify for the surgery.
The girls leave Montefiore this week and head to NYU's Rusk Institute for several months of inpatient physical theraphy. “I wouldn't be surprised if by the time they got to first grade, they won't need canes or crutches,” he added.
Angela Gillen said, “The goal is for them to lead an independent life, where they can walk and run and play and do whatever they want. We would just love to see our children get up and walk.”