Shiloh Pepin, Mermaid Girl dies

Shiloh Pepin, Mermaid Girl dies

The "Mermaid Girl" Shiloh Pepin, died Friday at Maine Medical Center after a bad cold turned in to pneumonia, 10-years-old.
The girl known as Mermaid girl because her legs were fused together from the waist down.
The condition is about as rare as conjoined twins and is usually fatal within a day or two of birth. Shiloh Pepin had been hospitalized in critical condition since last week.
Some children with sirenomelia are able to have surgery to separate their legs, but Shiloh was unable to due to the blood vessels crossing from side to side in her circulatory system that would have been severed. Shiloh had received two kidney transplants, the last one was in 2007.
Shiloh’s story was recently shown on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.
Shiloh’s mother, eslie Pepin, said her daughter came down with a cold earlier this month that quickly turned to pneumonia. Shiloh rushed to Maine Medical Center on Oct. 10 and was placed on antibiotics and a ventilator.
Shiloh seemed to be doing fine for a while, but her health rapidly declined. “She’s a tough little thing,” she said of her daughter earlier this week.
Shiloh was a fifth-grader at Kennebunkport Consolidated School. “She was such a shining personality in that building,” said Maureen King, chairwoman of the board of the regional school district. Counselors will be available next week to talk to students.
Our condolences to Shiloh Pepin’s family, friends, and many supporters.
Source news.cnpanyu.com/