nick
October 27th, 2009, 08:24 AM
This is a sad story, poor little girl:
Shiloh Pepin, a girl who was born with "mermaid syndrome", a rare condition in which her legs were fused together, has died. She was 10.
Doctors had predicted that the little girl, who had gained a wide following on the internet and US television, would at most only survive for days after her birth.
Shiloh died at Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon, said John Lamb, a hospital spokesman. She had been hospitalised in critical condition for nearly a week.
Being born with "mermaid syndrome," also known as sirenomelia, meant that the Kennebunkport girl had only one partially working kidney, no lower colon or genital organs and legs fused from the waist down.
Some children who have survived sirenomelia have had surgery to separate their legs, but Shiloh did not, because blood vessels crossing from side to side in her circulatory system would have been severed. She had received two kidney transplants, most recently in 2007.
Her story was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and other national television programmes.
Earlier this month, her mother, Leslie Pepin, said her daughter came down with a cold that quickly turned to pneumonia. Shiloh was rushed to Maine Medical Center on Oct 10 and was placed on antibiotics and a ventilator.
Through the television shows, news articles, Facebook and other websites, the little girl inspired many.
"I live in Iowa. I have cerebral palsy. I love your video," 12-year-old Lydia Dawley wrote to Shiloh on Facebook. "You have a great personality I wish you lived close so we could be friends and hang out. You opened my eyes because you are so brave."
Source here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6440069/Mermaid-syndrome-girl-born-with-fused-legs-dies-aged-10.html)
Shiloh Pepin, a girl who was born with "mermaid syndrome", a rare condition in which her legs were fused together, has died. She was 10.
Doctors had predicted that the little girl, who had gained a wide following on the internet and US television, would at most only survive for days after her birth.
Shiloh died at Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon, said John Lamb, a hospital spokesman. She had been hospitalised in critical condition for nearly a week.
Being born with "mermaid syndrome," also known as sirenomelia, meant that the Kennebunkport girl had only one partially working kidney, no lower colon or genital organs and legs fused from the waist down.
Some children who have survived sirenomelia have had surgery to separate their legs, but Shiloh did not, because blood vessels crossing from side to side in her circulatory system would have been severed. She had received two kidney transplants, most recently in 2007.
Her story was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and other national television programmes.
Earlier this month, her mother, Leslie Pepin, said her daughter came down with a cold that quickly turned to pneumonia. Shiloh was rushed to Maine Medical Center on Oct 10 and was placed on antibiotics and a ventilator.
Through the television shows, news articles, Facebook and other websites, the little girl inspired many.
"I live in Iowa. I have cerebral palsy. I love your video," 12-year-old Lydia Dawley wrote to Shiloh on Facebook. "You have a great personality I wish you lived close so we could be friends and hang out. You opened my eyes because you are so brave."
Source here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6440069/Mermaid-syndrome-girl-born-with-fused-legs-dies-aged-10.html)