Sad news -- with a correction

Two-headed baby boy Kiron dies at home

A pair of dicephalic twins was born in Bangladesh. Their parents, who could not afford medical care, took them home. They developed respiratory problems and a fever, and died.

To reiterate -- There were two children. If you doubt it, consider the Hensel twins:



Did the boys die because of lack of medical care? I can't say. After all, conjoined twins rarely survive to birth, and frequently die soon afterward, due to malformations in their internal organs. Boys also have a higher risk of death than girls -- as do all male children.

I would like to have known about the boys, and to have seen a fund set up to provide their medical care. I certainly would have readily contributed.

Of course, the death of a child is always sad, the deaths of two children doubly sad. But considering how rare it is for such children to survive to birth, this is more a happy story that ended too soon. Whether it could have been lived out longer we will likely never know.