KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Conjoined twins born last week to a Kansas City woman died Monday at a special hospice in Westport.

The babies, named Joy and Joya, had been staying at Alexandra's House with their mother, Jackie Hemphill.

Alexandra's House is a hospice and infant rescue.

The girls shared a liver and a heart. Doctors said that the girls were unlikely to survive separated or with donated organs.

"I don't know how long they'll live, how long they won't, but I'm just going to spend every moment I can with them," Hemphill said during interviews last week.

The girls were struggling to breathe early Monday morning, and they were given a painkiller and died peacefully, Hemphill said.

"They were really gasping for air -- I couldn't take the way they were gasping for it, so we gave them morphine to calm them down. We lost them about 11:30 this morning," Hemphill said.

She said she feels blessed to have spent a week with the girls, who doctors said probably couldn't survive a day.

"I feel like they touched a lot of people's lives, not only mine but theirs, too. If I'm going to mourn, they can mourn. I want them to cry with me still," Hemphill said. "They're up in heaven saying, 'We're OK, mommy.' They're in a better place than I could ever give them here."

A funeral for the twins will be held Thursday at Grace Christian Fellowship Church at 3721 Paseo Boulevard in Kansas City.

A fund has been set up to help the family. Donations can be sent to:

Joy and Joya Hemphill Fund
Bank of America
331 Westport Road
Kansas City, MO 64111

On The Web

To learn more about Alexandra's House, visit AlexandrasHouse.com.