UPDATE: Father of conjoined twins says babies died Friday afternoon
Born against the odds, the conjoined twins from Ladonia, Ala., lost their two-day battle Friday.
They were taken away from their mother, Robin Hamby, to save their lives, but she was able to hold Asa and Eli before they died.
Michael Hamby, the father, announced their death in a Facebook video posted after 10 p.m. He said they died around 5 p.m. at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.
They were born at 7:32 a.m. Thursday in Northside Hospital of Atlanta, joined side-by-side, with separate heads and spines but a shared torso and one set of arms and one set of legs. When they were considered stabilized about five hours later, they were transferred to Egleston, where specialists tried to help them breathe better. Two brains were trying to control three lungs and one heart with two aortas.
"Early this morning they started to have a little heart issues," their father, Michael said in the video. "One side of the heart was beating faster than the other. Boys were kept sedated and medicated as heart beat reached 300 per minute."
Robin was taken from Northside to Egleston to be with the boys.
"Robin got over there and we got to hold them, love on them and sing to them," Michael said.
"I miss them," he added. "It is hard losing two kids at one time, even though I have only got to be with them 24 hours. Feels like a lifetime. I don't wish this hurt on anybody. ... We are blessed to get this opportunity to go through nine months. Then to have the opportunity to have them for a little bit."
"God gave us extra time with them that some parents don't have," Robin said. "We had two days."
"You got to be strong in the Lord," Michael said. "There was a reason my sons came to this world. They ministered to millions of people. I know they are in heaven and waiting on me."
"The boys have done so much and they were just babies," Robin said. "They looked so much like Michael. They were the cutest little things. They were so sweet."
According to the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births and most are stillborn.
Statistics from the University of Maryland Medical Center are also daunting: 35 percent of conjoined twins survive only one day, the overall survival rate is between 5 and 25 percent, and female conjoined twins are three times more likely than males to be born alive.
In a telephone interview with the Ledger-Enquirer around 11 p.m., Michael said the faith that compelled Robin and him to continue the pregnancy after the eighth-week ultrasound revealed the conjoined twins is the same faith that compels them to not have any regrets.
"You have to stay strong, even though the Lord does things like this," he said. "He does things for a reason. He's a good God. I just want people to understand our sons, even though they lived only (34) hours, they witnessed to people all around the world, and that should say something. They touched people, these two little boys who hadn't even gotten a word out. They touched so many people."
Funeral arrangements are pending. The boys will be cremated, he said, and a memorial service will be planned.
"We know the day we stand before the Father," Michael said, "we can tell Him that we loved those kids and thank Him that He gave them to us."
Senior reporter Chuck Williams contributed to this story.
Earlier Friday: The father of the conjoined Hamby twins said Friday morning on a Facebook post around 7:30 that the boys were "doing ok."
Robin and Michael Hamby, both 34, welcomed Asa and Eli into the world Thursday at 7:32 a.m. at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. They've been keeping the public informed through posts on their Facebook page.
Read Thursday's story about the conjoined twins' birth
In the Facebook post Friday morning, Michael said Robin is doing good.
"She was up moving around last night," he said.
He continued to ask for prayers for their family.
"The boys are doing OK. They're sleeping," Michael said. " They do have them intubated. They do have good color.
" Anything still can happen. We need your prayers."
The family's story has gone international, with Good Morning America picking up the story this morning. As more people learn about the family from Ladonia, Ala., the pressure to constantly update has grown.
Michael asked the friends of the Hamby Twins Facebook page to "just hold tight."
"I would like to ask everyone to calm down on texting us, sending us Facebook messages," he said.
Watch the Friday morning video here:
This story was originally published December 5, 2014 at 9:56 AM with the headline "UPDATE: Father of conjoined twins says babies died Friday afternoon."