Second Bangladesh twin wakes
Posted: 21 November 2009 1629 hrs

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MELBOURNE : The weaker of two Bangladeshi twins separated from her conjoined sister in landmark surgery in Australia woke fully from a coma Saturday -- and blew her guardian a 'raspberry.'

"I'm smiling today and it's the only smile I've had in a week, I'm grinning. Krishna's woken up, unbelievable ... and she is neurologically sound, which gives me shivers down my spine," Moira Kelly told reporters.

Kelly said she gave a "big yelp" when Krishna blew her a 'raspberry' and there was "a bit of a sniffle down the phone" when she shared the news with the team of 16 surgeons who separated the two-year-olds.

The other twin, Trishna, was said to be "100 percent perfect" after waking up on Thursday.

The team of specialists worked for 32 hours on Monday and Tuesday to divide their connected skulls, brains and blood vessels in a procedure that took two years of planning and preparatory operations.

The tricky, risky surgery was initially given only a 25 percent chance of complete success.

"We've got challenges ahead of us, the children are in ICU, they'll be there for a while and they've certainly got rehab to do and there's other things they'll have to get through," Kelly said.

"It won't be easy but the girls are alive and they're normal, my God. 'Miracle' is such a wonderful, beautiful word -- but it's not big enough."

Trishna and Krishna were rescued from an orphanage in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, where doctors said they were powerless to improve their fading health.

The aid worker who was instrumental in getting the girls brought to Australia two years ago, Danielle Noble, saw them for the first time in their newly-separated state and said it was the "most incredible feeling."

"Two years ago this was just a dream. They look amazing," Noble said. "I can't describe the emotion of it, of walking in there and seeing two beautiful little girls in two beds."

Kelly said Trishna had been reaching for her twin since waking from her coma just two days after the surgery, and the moment when Krishna's breathing tube came out was "magical".

"Krishna made this yell and Trishna heard her, it was just beautiful to see. It wasn't just me telling her she's okay, she knows she's there," she said.

- AFP/vm