For immediate release

SickKids celebrates twins’ first birthday and
return to Zimbabwe

Before	After

TORONTO - Eight months after arriving at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) for life-saving separation surgery, SickKids staff and friends who made the separation possible will say goodbye to twins Tinashe and Tinotenda Mufuka on July 19.

The boys will be returning to Zimbabwe with their mother and nurse on July 20, the day of their first birthday. Since recovering from their separation surgery earlier this year, both boys have also had successful surgeries at SickKids to repair their cleft lips and palates. The medical team is pleased with their progress and has determined that the boys are ready to return home.

BACKGROUND:

December 2, 2004	The twin boys, joined at the abdomen and sharing a liver, arrived at SickKids from Zimbabwe, accompanied to Toronto by their mother and a nurse.
March 7, 2005	The twins are separated at SickKids by a surgical team of 25 medical staff. They are the tenth set of conjoined twins to be separated at SickKids.
May 31 & June 8, 2005	Tinashe and Tinotenda have surgery to repair their cleft lips and palates.
July 20, 2005	The twins celebrate their first birthday and return home to Zimbabwe.

SickKids first learned of the case from Canadian physicians who delivered the twins while working in Zimbabwe. It was determined that SickKids was the only hospital able to offer medical expertise as well as financial assistance through the Herbie Fund to cover medical expenses.

The Herbie Fund, started in 1979, has helped more than 480 children from over 85 countries come to SickKids for specialized medical care that is not available in their home country. The number of children the hospital is able to help depends entirely on the amount of money donated to the Herbie Fund.
To help other children that require assistance through the Herbie Fund, donations can be made to the Herbie Fund through SickKids Foundation by:

calling (416) 813-6166

or

a cheque can be mailed to:

The Herbie Fund,
SickKids Foundation,
525 University Avenue,
Toronto, ON M5G 1X8