Shiloh Pepin Pictures:Shiloh Pepin, the little girl born with fused legs, has died at the age of 10. Read more about Shiloh Pepin and her rare condition sometimes called “mermaid syndrome” below.
Doctors thought Shiloh would only live for days after her birth, but her mother called her a “a tough little thing.” Shiloh Pepin died at Maine Medical Center Friday afternoon. She had been hospitalized in critical condition for nearly a week.
Shiloh was born with “mermaid syndrome,” also known as sirenomelia, and Shiloh only had one partially working kidney, no lower colon or genital organs and her legs were fused from the waist down.
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.
Here’s a video on little Shiloh Pepin “Mermaid Girl”:
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