Herrin twins celebrate 5th birthday

NORTH SALT LAKE — Maliyah and Kendra Herrin spent their first birthday apart on Monday, together as always, although playing with different things.

The formerly conjoined twins were playing with sister Courtney in their castle room, surrounded by Barbie dolls, with music from Maliyah's beloved Radio Disney playing in the background.

"We're 4," Maliyah says automatically, but Kendra jumps in with the update. "Today we're 5," she announces.

Six months have passed since the exuberant little girls were physically separated during a grueling 26-hour surgery at Primary Children's Medical Center. They were born connected at the abdomen and shared some internal organs. They each had control of one leg.

When they first were separated, "they would argue and fight constantly," says mom Erin. Now, though, they've settled into their independence and get along very nicely, best friends once more.

If you ask, they'll tell you the best gifts they got were Kendra's Dora the Explorer cash register and Maliyah's remote-control skating Barbie, which does the splits.

But they're more interested in why the male Deseret Morning News photographer wears "jewelry" — actually a watch and wedding band. And they're stunned to learn that there's a boy Barbie named Ken. "What's he look like?" they demand. He looks like their dad, Jake, they're told.

They have, in fact, a whole bunch of questions. Courtney, 7, just lost a tooth, and they want to know what the Tooth Fairy looks like and where she lives and whether she's little. Told she's a busy fairy and might have some helpers who look a little different, they nod sagely. "Like Santa Claus."

They go to preschool twice a week and "they're super, super tired and hungry when they get home" after the long half-day session, their mom says. They're healing nicely from the rigors of the surgery, but Maliyah needs dialysis several times a week because the kidney they shared was Kendra's. Kendra's surgical wound has taken a long time to close but is now very small. Maliyah still has a feeding tube to augment her diet.

Both girls had to return to the hospital for a second surgery to deal with a bowel blockage caused by scarring not long after the separation surgery. They've had lots of follow-ups and doctor visits for various colds and infections. But they're cheerful and generally healthy.

Maliyah has one more big surgical hurdle, but she'll share it with her mom, not Kendra. Erin Herrin will soon give Maliyah one of her kidneys, an operation that is planned for sometime in March at either Primary Children's Medical Center or University Hospital. Erin Herrin is expected to be in the hospital for about five days, while Maliyah is likely to be hospitalized for around three weeks.