Once conjoined triplets, now 17 years old

In 2003, the medical world was awestruck when surgeons performed a risky and complex surgery to separate conjoined twins, Macey and Mackenzie. The doctors were well aware of the risks involved in the 24-hour surgery, but they took the chance anyway. The twins, who had been joined at the pelvis, were successfully separated several months after they were born by Dr. James Stein, chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. At the time, the girls were only 10 months old, and the surgery was an incredible feat of medical expertise and dedication.

The birth parents of the triplets, unfortunately, had never received prenatal care during the pregnancy, leaving the babies in a precarious situation. They could not provide the love and care the triplets needed, and the girls’ biological mother made the difficult decision to place them up for adoption.

Darla and Jeff Garrison, a loving married couple from Iowa, had always dreamed of expanding their family by adopting sisters for their three healthy sons. They had fostered several special needs children and neglected children, and they felt a calling to bring the triplets into their home and make it their forever family.

Today, the girls have overcome the odds and achieved more than many could have imagined. They refuse to dwell on their physical limitations and instead focus on crushing goals that people thought they’d never be able to accomplish. As they approach adulthood and college, they’re more grateful than ever for their health and well-being, and they’re thriving in the loving family that adopted them so many years ago. Now 17 years old, they continue to inspire others with their incredible spirit and determination.