Pregnant with conjoined twins, Detroit mother finds powerful strength in faith
Nicole Duque, 23, has always desired to become a mother. She was born and raised in the United States, with a Bolivian mother and a late Colombian father.
From the day she got married at the age of 22, she and her husband, Austin LeBlanc, began trying to conceive, praying novenas for their wish to come true. After months of waiting, she finally took a pregnancy test, which came back positive in October.
Six weeks into her pregnancy, Duque began to experience severe nausea and lost 10 pounds. Concerned about her condition, she visited a doctor who conducted an ultrasound, which revealed she was carrying twins. However, only one heartbeat was detected during the initial test, prompting Duque to seek a second opinion.
The only certainty: a high-risk pregnancy
For Duque and her husband, hearing the heartbeat at seven weeks was exciting, despite knowing there could be complications. That same day, Duque called her entire family to share the news, as she is the first great-granddaughter to get married and knew it would be special for them.
After the initial test, the doctors requested a follow-up evaluation at 13 weeks, during which Duque’s nausea worsened, making it difficult for her to carry out even basic activities such as eating.
At 10 weeks, Duque was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. There, doctors made the difficult diagnosis that she was carrying conjoined twins, daughters joined from the chest to the navel. The diagnosis was painful: the twins shared a heart, liver, diaphragm, intestines, and umbilical cord, which significantly increased the risk neither child would survive.
