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Little Eman and Sanchia Mowatt hit news headlines across the world back in 2001 after the 'miracle' twins survived the UK's first spine separation surgery.
The pair were born as conjoined twins – attached by their backs – and shared a bleak 25% survival rate.
Doctors were worried that the operation, which was performed for only the third time in the world at the time, could lead to paralysis.
However, thankfully the ground-breaking procedure, which took 16 strenuous hours at Birmingham Children's Hospital, was a success.
This meant that the three-month old girls could live as individuals.
The sisters have now lost count of the monthly hospital appointments and physiotherapy sessions they've had to attend at the hospital since.
They've also been bombarded with questions about the surgery from curious friends and strangers.
Opening up to Birmingham Live, Eman said their journey has been "overwhelming".
She explained: "We were born this way, we just emerged into the world and by the time we were four or five, the news crews were always at our house every year celebrating the birthdays and stuff. It's been overwhelming."
"There's only so much you can try and hide that part of yourself before people start being curious and asking those questions.
"We used to get people come up to us and say: ' I recognise you guys from the news'. Sometimes [now] there's odd people who say: 'I remember you'."
However, Eman – now 19 years old – said that every day her and her sister are "getting more and more comfortable with the story."
She added: "It's not an every day story. A lot of our life is online, in terms of our birth story. But in terms of what we're going through right now, that's not really there."
The twins are now both pursuing different careers through their studies at university – with Eman wanting to pursue politics and Sanchia hoping to get a career in technology and cyber security.
Sanchia said they "turned out five times better than medics predicted" as they started walking earlier than expected.
She admitted: "They weren't sure if we would walk after the operation."
Unfortunately however, the sisters still suffer from joint and muscle pain, with Eman using a wheelchair and both using crutches to assist with 'bad days'.
Sanchia said she is "grateful" that her and her sister are separated though.
She added: "We're very separate beings now, we're very close as sisters, but I'm glad we're separate to do separate things."
With the 20th anniversary of their separation surgery approaching, the Mowatt sisters, who also have a younger sister – Damaris – hope to "give back" by raising £10,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital.
The siblings plan to hold various fundraising events through the year, with people asked to donate via their JustGiving page by December 10 – the date their life-changing operation took place back in 2001.
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After being in and out of hospital all their lives, the sisters have finally left the children's hospital.
However, with the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, they said they haven't been able to say a "proper goodbye" and want to "give back" to the hospital.
Back in 2019, the twins "had the privilege" to have work experience at the Children's Hospital and even met with the medics involved in their surgery, which they described as "amazing".
They said that they can't think of a better way to thank the hospital and the medics involved than raising money for them.
- In the News
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