Better together.
A mom of conjoined twins has become an unexpected star on TikTok, sharing stories about how she navigates life with her two young daughters.
Chelsea Torres, 29, gave birth to Callie and Carter back in February 2017, with doctors giving the girls a 5 percent chance of survival.
Torres, who hails from Blackfoot, Idaho, was given the option to terminate her pregnancy but instead decided that she wanted to keep the babies.
Callie and Carter have not only defied doctors’ odds to survive — they’ve also been able to thrive.
The twins, now aged 6, are seen swimming, bike riding and playing outdoors in Torres’ TikTok clips, which have collectively wracked up more than 6.2 million likes.
“You girls can accomplish anything with hard work and dedication,” the proud mom cheered beneath a recent viral video of Callie and Carter swinging from a jungle gym.
In a separate clip, Torres explained that she and her husband were given the option to separate Callie and Carter shortly after they were born, but decided against the “life-threatening” surgery.
The twins have two hearts and two separate stomachs, but their kidneys are fused and they share a single intestinal tract and bladder. They each control one arm and a leg.
Callie and Carter recently started elementary school and spoke to local news station KTVB about the milestone.
“We really like school a lot,” Carter declared. “We have lots of friends.
Meanwhile, they also “go to physical therapy, they do normal activities, they ride bikes,” Torres — who hand sews all the girls’ outfits — told the Idaho station. “Even though Callie and Carter are two individuals put together, you have to remember they are individual children.”
“I just want people to know that they are just two normal kids, they are in an unusual circumstance, and just treat them normally,” she added.
Torres says she and her husband haven’t ruled out surgery to separate the girls if that is their wish in the future.
“If they say we want to be separated, we will try,” she declared. “I will tell them they have to listen to what the doctors say, you have to understand the odds, if you want to go through with it, and do it, then I will support it. For now, it’s not my choice to make. It’s such a dangerous surgery, it’s just not my choice to make for them. They are not broken to me.”
Despite winning hundred of thousands of admirers with her heartwarming videos, Torres has had to contend with numerous TikTok trolls.
“I wish them a long life. However, this is the reason some pregnancies are terminated,” one wrote beneath a video. “Too much suffering.”
Another chimed in: “This is so sad. Why do they live this way?”
However, the critics are drowned out by supporters of Torres, with one declaring: “You are amazing. Your beautiful girls are so lucky to have you.”
