The desperate parents of conjoined ten-year-old twins attached at the head are appealing for help to raise £75,000 to separate them.
Joy and Joyce Magsino were born with angular frontal partial craniopagus – they are attached at the forehead.
A touching video released by their father devoted Patrick Magsino, 30, shows them taking selfies and playing video games, just like any other ten-year-old girls.
Doctors in Albay in the Philippines said it was possible to separate them with a risky and costly operation in 2012 – and the family have been saving up ever since.
Their father Patrick earns £6 a day as a market assistant porter, while his wife Jomarie migrated to Qatar to work as a maid to save up.
But the family has only raised around a third of the cash needed – and are now appealing for help.
He said: “When the girls were born they were fed through a plastic tube but today they are playful.
“It has become hard to control them especially because they now want to be separated.
“The twins have developed a great sense of understanding, but they occasionally fight over doing their preferred activities.
“Joyce has a cleft lip and is dominant of the two twins and usually manages to get her way in most situations.
“We have been trying hard to organised the funds for the past five years after the doctors confirmed that the girls can be separated, but we haven’t been able to garner even one third of it so far.
“I am seeking help from hospitals in countries such as the UK, the US and India.
“I’d be open to any procedure where the safety of both my girls will be ensured.
“Also, expenses should be covered as well, because on my own I would never be able to afford their treatment.”
The bubbly girls are card for by family members while their parents work to save up for their treatment.
A video shows them eating out and bickering – just like most young twins – as well as bravely dealing with climbing stairs and crossing the road.
The family claim at the time of their birth a local charity said it would help pay for medical treatment of the girls.
But apparently they stopped helping in 2014 when medics said the operation was risky.
A family spokesperson said: “The doctors said the operation would be quite risky as one nerve connects the girls and it would have to be connected within seconds or else one of them would die. That is when the foundation withdrew their support.”
The family still wants to go ahead with the treatment, but they are unable to afford the whooping costs.
