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WEBVTT FROM PALO ALTO. VICK A DAY MORE THAN TWO DAYS IN THE MAKING. TWIN GIRLS PREPARE FOR ONE OF THE RAREST MEDICAL JOURNEYS. JUST WEE AGO, THE TWINS WERE BURSTING WITH INFECTIOUS CURIOSITY. >> TICKLE ERIKA! VICKI: AS THE TWINS PREPARE FOR SEPARATE LIVES. >> MY STOMACH IS IN KNOTS. I'M HAPPY, I'M SCARED. ONE MOM PUT IT A QUEASY. THEY ARE PERFECT THE WAY THEY ARE. VICKI: ON TUESDAY ERIKA AND EVA AND THE HOSPITAL AS ONE. MORE THAN 17 METICULOUS HOURS TO DIVIDE THE TWINS, FIGHTING DIFFICULT ODDS TO SURVIVE. THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO WAS THERE FOR US. VICKI: THE MEDICAL TEAM OF 50'S SUCCESSFULLY SEPARATING ERIKA AND EVA . I WANTED EACH GIRL TO HAVE HALF OF THE BELLY BUTTON SO THAT FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE, THEY CAN LOOK AT THAT HALF A BELLY BUTTON AND THINK, THAT IS WHERE I WAS CONNECTED TO MY SISTER. VICKI: THE SISTERS NOW WITH INDEPENDENT FUTURES. >> THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE GIRLS, IT WAS VERY SURREAL. IT STILL SEEMS THERE'S A REAL ONE I SEE -- WHEN I SEE ONE ON ONE SIDE AND THE OTHER ON THE OTHER SIDE. IT BRINGS US ALL JOY. VICK ALWAYS CONNECTED BY AN EXTRAORDINARY BOND. >> IT HAS BEEN A LONG JOURNEY TO GET HERE, A DREAM COME TRUE.

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Conjoined twin girls from Sacramento County are recovering after going through separation surgery in Palo Alto. Erika and Eva Sandoval, 2, from Antelope, underwent a marathon surgery Tuesday at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. The twins were conjoined from the lower torso, sharing a fused liver, pelvis, third leg and digestive tract. After the more than 17-hour surgery, the toddlers were in stable condition. For the first time, Erika and Eva were in separate beds as they recovered at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. “It has been a long journey to get here. It’s really been a dream come true,” mother Aida Sandoval said. “The first time I saw the girls, it was very surreal. It still seems very surreal when I see one on one side, and the other one on the other side. But, it brings us all joy.” The chances of having conjoined twins are 1 in 30,000 to 1 in 200,000 pregnancies, according to Stanford Children’s Health. A majority of twins die in the womb, while half of the twins born die within 24 hours. Aida Sandoval and her husband Arturo learned weeks into pregnancy that the twins were conjoined. The Sandovals had the option to terminate the pregnancy, and doctors warned the couple that Aida would be risking her own life to give birth. “Why would I bring them into this world knowing they are going to suffer? But then I think, why not give them a chance?” she said. "They are really fighters. I think that's what keeps me going because they want to." Aida Sandoval was 45 years old when she found out she was pregnant with the twins. With three adult children, she was completely surprised by the pregnancy. “I was so excited. I was in heaven,” she said. “God answered my prayers because I don’t think I was done. I don’t think I was done being a mom.” Aida Sandoval left her job to care for the twins full-time, while her husband continued to work and provide for the family, maintaining health benefits. “Financially, I think it takes a toll on a single-parent income,” she said. “I think the hardest part is not having Art with me.” The married couple has been long-distance for months. Arturo Sandoval remained in the Sacramento area for work, while Aida Sandoval moved to Palo Alto to be near the hospital as the girls prepared for surgery. Erika and Eva were given a 70 percent chance to survive the separation surgery. “Prayer sessions. Thank you to everybody who was there for us,” Arturo Sandoval said. A medical team of 50 successfully separated Erika and Eva. “I wanted each girl to have half of the belly button," lead surgeon Dr. Gary Hartman said. "So for the rest of their life, they can look at that belly button and think, 'That’s where I was connected to my sister.'” Erika and Eva were the seventh separation surgery of conjoined twins conducted by Hartman. The twins have a long medical journey ahead. The focus now is to protect Erika and Eva from infections and complications as they heal, Hartman said. The twins will remains at Lucile Packard for weeks until they are healthy enough to return home. The Sandoval Family has a YouCaring website for donations.