James Finley and Amanda Arciniega of Saginaw, Texas, welcomed their twin girls, Amielynn and Jamielynn, into the world last October, according to NBC Fort Worth affiliate KXAS.

In a segment that aired on TODAY, the couple shared the shock of discovering they were having conjoined twins, a revelation that came during a 10-week ultrasound.

“On the ride home, we were quiet, and it was kind of sad,” Arciniega recalled as she teared up.

Only about one in every 200,000 live births results in conjoined twins. Amielynn and Jamielynn were joined from the lower part of the breastbone to the belly button and shared the same liver, creating a challenge for doctors attempting to separate them.

“There is no medical book you’re going to open, and it says, ‘Step one: conjoined twins separation.’ That does not exist because of the rarity of this,” said Dr. Ben Gbulie, a plastic surgeon at Cook Children’s Hospital.

Six surgeons were on the team of 25 medical professionals tasked with helping the girls. Dr. José Iglesias led the effort and said it showed just how much the human spirit and collaboration can accomplish.