Marathon 17-Hour Surgery To Separate Conjoined Twins A Success
“It’s kind of like – ‘Where’s your other half?’ It’s going to take a little getting used to," the girls' mother said following the procedure.
Sacramento Bee:
Conjoined Twins Erika And Eva Emerge From Marathon Surgery As Two Separate Girls
From one to two. In simplest terms, that was the jubilant result Wednesday for conjoined twins Eva and Erika Sandoval, who became two separate toddlers following a 17-hour marathon surgery at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. For their parents, Antelope residents Arturo and Aida Sandoval, it was an arduous ordeal, physically and emotionally, that encompassed tears, tension, prayers and hugs, along with the support of about 40 family members who gathered with them at the hospital. (Caiola and Buck, 12/7)
In other news from across the state —
Ventura County Star:
New County Hospital Wing Flooded In Ventura
Water that backed up through a sink Wednesday flooded an area that may surpass 5,000 square feet in a new wing being built at the Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura. The flooding occurred about 1:30 p.m. in the portion of the 122-bed wing that will house the emergency department, said Joan Arajujo, chief deputy director of the Ventura County Health Care Agency. The exact cause of the flooding is still being investigated. Tests will be conducted to make sure the water wasn't contaminated, but Araujo said she saw no visible evidence the flooding involved sewage. (Kisken, 12/7)
San Jose Mercury News:
Palo Alto Bans Smoking In Apartments, Condos
As part of a program to be administered and enforced by Santa Clara County, the city adopted upcoming rules for its 29 tobacco retailers that currently apply only to unincorporated areas. Such rules include a ban on tobacco containing additives — “an artificial or natural flavor or aroma,” such as strawberry, cinnamon, vanilla or mint, which county officials say is more enticing to youth and serves as a conduit to addiction. As part of the county’s effort to curb tobacco marketing aimed at youth, retailers in unincorporated areas cannot operate within 1,000 feet of a school. (Lee, 12/8)
San Jose Mercury News:
Marijuana Grower Eddy Lepp Released From Federal Prison After 10-Year Sentence
Free after eight years of federal imprisonment, one of the nation’s most celebrated cannabis convicts came home to California on Wednesday, walking off a United Airlines flight into the warm embrace of supporters — and a profoundly changed world. Charles “Eddy” Lepp, a defiant 64-year-old Vietnam vet and ordained Rastafarian minister, was convicted on federal felony charges in 2007 for doing something that California now considers legal because of last month’s passage of Proposition 64: growing marijuana. (Krieger, 12/7)