CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A pair of conjoined twins from the Rio Grande Valley were successfully separated four years ago by a team of surgeons at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi.
The twin girls were 10 months old at the time. They were born as triplets, but only two of the girls were conjoined.
Now, three years later, they are living proof that miracles really do happen.
It was back in 2016 when Ximena and Scarlett awaited their separation surgery. A touching photo went viral before the surgery -- the team of more than a dozen medical experts holding hands, heads bowed in prayer, asking for divine intervention.
"It wasn't just the surgeons," Dr. Haroon Patel said. "It was a combination of nurses, or personnel. We had a team of 45 to 50 people involved."
Patel was the lead surgeon during the separation procedure. He recalled the long day and has now had time to absorb the magnitude of the complex operations that they accomplished.
"Prior to this set of conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy, there's not been any known survivors," Patel said. "So we feel very fortunate. Very blessed. And the fact that they're doing so well, is great."
Ximena and Scarlett recently caught up with 3News at Driscoll Children's Hospital's Specialty Clinic in the Rio Grande Valley. Today, they are full of energy and embracing life to its fullest.
The twins are thriving.
"This is Scarlett Torres and this is Ximena Torres," their mother Sylvia Ambriz said.
Ambriz and her husband Juan said the girls' recovery is nothing short of miraculous.
"Feel blessed, because all the people that would watch the news reports of my two children, or follow their progress on social media, they prayed for them. They worried about this. They would send me things for my girls and I am forever thankful," Ambriz said. "That helped me, because my daughters weren't the only ones suffering. I was also going through my own rough parts of life."
As far as a prognosis for the rambunctious 4-year-olds, Dr. Patel said it is all good.
"The time that I am seeing them is being spaced out even more, which is a good thing. It means that they need less and less in terms of surgical care," Patel said. "Now that is not to say they wont need care, but at least for the immediate near-term future, there's not a whole lot they're needing surgically."
Ximena has been a little slower in making progress. She has only one kidney and it is not functioning properly, so she is seen often by her doctors. However, her mom and dad believe what gets them through the rough spots -- the seemingly endless trips to the doctors office -- is one very important element in their lives.
"We are here, moving forward and nothing is ever going to stop us, because we know God is with us," Ambriz said. "And with the help of all these wonderful doctors and nurses, we will succeed."
With deep faith and positive words, they believe blessings will come for Ximena, Scarlett and the rest of the family.
As for as the other sister in the set of triplets, named Catalina, she is doing well and also thriving.