‘Mi a encourage everybody to just continue to pray’ - Grandmother of separated twin seeks divine intervention to keep child alive

As a tear trickled down the left side of her face, Stacy-Ann Ferron-Williams, grandmother of former conjoined twin Azora Elson is imploring the nation to pray for a full recovery as she continues to battle against a failing heart.

Leaning on a drum in her yard for support, Williams managed a burst of smile between the tears before stating she will forever remain that pillar of strength for her daughter, Iesha McMurray (twins' mother), who is currently in Saudi Arabia with the toddlers.

"Mi just want to continue encourage mi daughter and mi ago continue to be her biggest strength throughout this. I don't know what it feels like to have conjoined twins but I know what it feels like to be a mother," she said.

"Mi a encourage everybody to just continue to pray for the babies mi daughter."

Azora and Azaria were separated at the King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital (KASCH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 13.

However, Saudi doctors have stated that Azora, who remains in the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) needs a heart transplant to survive.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

Williams said she is relying entirely on her faith and believes that divine intervention will reunite her with her granddaughters in the near future.

"The Bible say if yuh have faith small as a mustard seed and God say as long as yuh open yuh faith to anything it ago work. Mi know him ago bring her through regardless of how hard it looks," she stated with confidence.

The Elson girls, who were joined at the abdomen, were born via C-section on November 7, 2023 at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

The duo had been admitted to the UHWI until July when they were flown to KASCH, where they were evaluated for three months.

Williams recalled the morning of November 13, when McMurray contacted her with the news that the twin were moments from being separated.

"When mi daughter call me about after 4:00 the morning and say 'Mommy dem pull now', it was joy. In fact, she even make mi see the countdown and mi hear when the doctors dem say surgery was a success and mi feel so good," she noted.

"When day light and mi come out everybody a talk and was just really happy. Mi still feel happy," she said.

ONLY OPTION

Williams said although she was fully aware that the toddler had heart and lung problems, it never dawned on her that a transplant would be her only option.

"Azora don't wake up yet since the operation and it come down to a heart transplant now. We all knew she had a problem with her heart, but I never knew it would be a transplant," the grandmother said.

"At first, doctors were saying she had a hole in her heart, but afterwards dem find out say her heart is just weak. But mi feel positive say everything gonna work out," Williams said.

Her smile widened as she went down memory lane to share Azora's playful and cheeky ways.

"Azora she full a vibes eno, she more active than her sister. Looking at her yuh wouldn't know say she that sick. As much as she sick, she was the one who act like she stronger. She and her sister full a joy man and dem use to jump when dem see mi. Mi use to work up by UHWI so I would visit them every day," Williams said.

"Her sister would get up and play and she would get up and stand up and hold on to her crib. She playful. The same way she use to rock when her sister attached to her is mostly that she doing. Mi know say she miss her sister but is only through she can't talk. But yuh can see it in how she relate," she added.

Williams is hoping all goes well so the twins can enjoy many more of those joyful moments.

For now though, she continues to pray for Azora, and asks that the nation does the same.

"Mi know it ago happen and that God ago bring Azora through. So make we just join together and pray," she said.