This picture might seem very unusual to you, but it is a real picture of an 8 year old girl, Shiloh Pepin who was born with fused legs. Miraculously, she has been surviving with a sense of humour several times better than any adult, probably. You would find her yelling in her bathing suit, saying, “I’m a mermaid”.

Shiloh Pepin or the mermaid girl, was born in Kennebunkport, Maine, in August, 1999. Naturally her parents are very skeptical about the surgery of separating the two legs. Since the lower half of her body does not have the required internal organs, which are her bladder, large intestine, rectum and a large section of her kidney, she faces problems with digestion and excretion. Her mother is for the surgery but her father and Shiloh herself are in doubt. At any cost the surgery is a must, as doctors are saying that without her lower half having being removed she might be subjected to death.As sources say, there has been attempts to reconstruct organs in her body; she has already had two kidney transplantations.

The Mermaid Syndrome, as the disease is termed, is quite rare and causes are still unknown. Doctors believe that it happens due to organs not forming properly as the circulatory system does not develop before birth.

You can visit the website specially designed for Shiloh by her family, Shilohbenefit.com, which accepts donations to help cover the expenses of Shiloh’s medical costs, it would be generous of you.