Angelina

My Twin Sister; My Other Half by Tiffany Marie Congdon

For anyone who is lucky enough to have a twin, they will probably more than likely say that their twin is their best friend. Twins: partners in crime with a sacred bond and secret "twin" language that they all share weather they are identical or fraternal. I should know because I am an identical twin!

My twin sister Angelina and I were born 15 weeks premature on January 5th, 1991 in a small hospital in Wurzburg, Germany. I am the older twin by fifteen minutes, and despite the fact that one of us was breech, my mother had an all-natural delivery. When we were born, we were blue and could fit right in the doctor's hand. Imagine fitting in the palm of an adult's hand- that's how small we were! Our tiny lives were in the balance as a team of doctors whisked us away to the nearest ICU.

At three weeks old, we had emergency open heart surgery to repair a hole in our hearts. Due to our super fragile, small sizes, the incision had to be made on our backs. To this day, I have a scar on my back. A German priest was called in to give us last rites since we were not expected to survive. But as the days continued, I slowly started showing signs of improvement and I grew stronger. Angelina was sicker than I was and it was very difficult for my folks to watch one daughter slowly improving while the other one grew worse.

February 6th, 1991 was the worst day of my parent's lives. Angelina passed away from complications after the surgery. We were four weeks old. I'd give anything to have my twin sister back. The most precious link to me now rests in a graveyard in Germany. I don't remember my twin sister at all, but there are no words strong enough to describe the huge hole in our family! If I could have anything in the world, I would want my twin sister back. I know that Angelina is not in pain anymore or suffering, and that thought comforts me. I have a very special guardian angel watching over me and my family and I love and miss my twin sister very much!

PS- 9 months after I was born, my mom's best friend gave birth to a daughter that she named Angelina- after my late twin