Special Reports

FARGO, N.D. (WCCO) ― Abby and Belle Carlsen were born connected at the chest and abdomen. It's been almost two and a half years since they were successfully separated at the Mayo Clinic.

When WCCO first met the Carlsen twins, mother Amy Carlsen said, "The doctors seem to be pretty confident, but I'm pretty emotional."

Happy endings are rarely guaranteed, especially in cases like theirs.

Days before the surgery, Dr. Chris Moir tried to explain the complexity of the separation.

"You have a cardiac team, a liver team, a bile/pancreas team, the plastic surgery teams, and then double them, because there's two patients," he said.

It took 12 hours, but the surgery went as planned.

"My bike, my bike!" squealed Belle as she ran toward her tricycle on a sunny afternoon a few weeks ago.

It's hard to believe the healthy little girl was once connected to her sister. The girls ride their trikes so fast their parents have to run to keep up with them.

"Where my house?" asked Abby. "Where's your house?" answered her father, Jesse. "It's way back there."

"I can't believe they're almost three," said Amy. "It seems like -- it feels like I just brought them home, 'cause it's gone by so fast."

"Especially they way they are now, how active they are," explained Jesse. "It's crazy to think just two years ago, we were just scared for their lives basically."

Belle and Abby are a little small for their age, but in many ways, developmentally, they're actually ahead of their peers. It's hard to tell the twins were connected unless the girls show off their scars, which happens frequently.

"It's hard to keep their shirts down," laughed Jesse.

Both girls have soft spots over their hearts which leave them vulnerable.

"I do get a little worried just because they have some open areas in their chests," said Amy. "I'm so afraid of even a finger or a foot or a toe."

"I'm still real protective of them," said Jesse. "But I wouldn't call them 'fragile.'"

The miracle workers at Mayo Clinic are trying to provide some extra protection for the girls and some peace of mind for their parents.

"They kind of took it to the engineering. We're working on maybe like a tank top or something that we can just wear everyday, under her clothes, no problem," said Amy.

They may no longer be conjoined, but there's still a clear connection. WCCO's Jeanette Trompeter asked the girls if they ever watch the video from when you were little babies.

"Yeah," they replied.

"What does it show?" asked Trompeter.

Their answers were identical and incomprehensible. Amy calls it "twin talk." She doesn't understand it, but her daughters do.

They display other twin behavior, too.

"They like playing with us. You know, toying, pretending one's the other," said Jesse.

Their antics aren't necessarily unusual, but because of what they've been through, everything about Abby and Belle seems extraordinary. The girls have been potty trained for months and can put on their own shoes.

Amy and Jesse say they were always confident, but even they're amazed at how well the girls are doing.

"I'm just thinking 'Wow, not many people probably would have done what I've done, like kept the pregnancy and stuff,' I'm like just, 'Look what I have,'" said Amy.

"I think that almost everyday that I get to spend with them," said Jesse. "It's so much fun. It's just a blast."

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