From the day Shiloh Pepin was born she would beat the odds. For starters, she was born with sirenomelia, also known as “mermaid syndrome” which only occurs in one out of every 100,000 births.
It’s as rare as having conjoined twins.
What’s even more miraculous is that she survived. More than half of all cases of sirenomelia result in a stillbirth. The condition is 100 times more likely to occur in identical twins than single births, Wikipedia reports.
And what’s even more miraculous than that is the fact that she survived until she was 10-years-old.
Mermaid syndrome occurs when the normal vascular supply from the lower aorta in utero fails.
This causes the legs and lower half of the body to become fused and resemble a mermaid’s tail.
“She [Shiloh] was missing a whole series of organs including her uterus and her bladder, and her large intestine,” Shiloh’s doctor, Dr. Matthew Hand, told 20/20 in 2008.
“She had no vaginal vault or rectum, and no way for urine to get out of her body. Most of these babies die because of poor renal tissue makeup in their body.”
Shiloh had two kidney transplants and more than 150 surgeries.
She also had years of kidney dialysis.
Her parents were told that their child could have the syndrome and complications before her mother Leslie gave birth. They decide to move forward with the birth regardless.
“So if she had it, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to love her,” said Leslie. “[We] went through all these emotions, like you couldn’t even believe. But she came out, and she had the biggest, blackest eyes. I remember [Elmer] saying, ‘She’s beautiful.'”
Shiloh was quite the ray of sunshine and was a well-known personality in her town of Kennebunkport, Maine.
She attended Consolidated Elementary School up until the fifth grade.
“All the kids love her. She’s like their role model, basically,” her cousin, Samantha Mitchell, said.
Despite her appearance, looked and acted like any other young child and was quite spunky.
“She has every reason in the world to be bitter and unhappy and miserable,” said her father, Elmer. “And she’s the exact opposite. She’s happy. She’s vibrant.”
Shiloh loved to dance and took ballet classes.
She would sit on the floor and sway or move her body by scooting across the floor. She would eventually gain even greater notoriety and a ton of fans after appearing on Oprah and being subject of the TLC documentary “Extraordinary People: Mermaid Girl.”
Shiloh was always positive and full of hope.
“I feel like everything’s possible. I want to have a normal future like everybody else. … It’s hard to decide what I want to be when I grow up. There are so many choices. An actress, or a princess. Anything I want to be,” she told Oprah.
She eventually decided on being a jeweler. Being Shiloh wasn’t always easy but Shiloh had an amazing outlook on life.
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“It’s our differences that make up the world and make it so special,” Elmer told Oprah. “I just assured her that God made her different, and everybody’s special in their own way.”
Shiloh was one of three people to ever survive her condition.
She died at the age of 10-years-old but left behind a legacy of strength and perseverance that inspired all who came across her. You can learn more about her life in the video below.
