26-year-old (March 7, 1990) Siamese twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel, living in America, share a body from the neck down. The undivided identical twins have separate nervous systems, but four lungs and two hearts in one chest, as well as a liver, two stomachs, two gall bladders, one intestinal tract, one pelvis, and a urinary and reproductive system. The twins from Minnesota were predicted to be in the hospital for only a few days, but they didn’t give up and defied the predictions.
Here’s everything you need to know about Abby and Brittany Hensel!
1. Siamese twins, they live in the same body, but their vital organs are separated. Each has a separate heart, stomach, spine, lungs and spinal cord.
2. Each twin controls half of its body. One twin controls the left arm and leg, and the other twin controls the other limb.
3. Growing up learning how to crawl, clap or walk was difficult because they had to work together.
4. Twins have a distinctive gait. Brittany tends to walk on the tips of her toes!
5. Abby and Brittany’s parents immediately rejected the idea of separating the twins because the doctors said it was unlikely that the two of them would survive the operation.
Now that the twins are grown, their parents know they made the right decision because they are happy girls!
6. When they turned 16, they agreed to let them make a documentary about their adolescence (TLC), which later became a TV show!
7. They can walk, run, swim, drive and ride a bike together! They can even work on a computer, they just need to coordinate.
8. To drive, the twins had to pass two exams in writing and driving. Separately for each twin. While driving, Abby controls everything on the right and Brittany on the left.
9. Because they have really different personalities, they sometimes have a particularly difficult time choosing clothes. They ask a seamstress to sew a dress that accentuates their individuality.
10. Abby likes maths and Brittany likes writing.
11. They went to Bethel University and graduated in 2012!
12. Abby and Brittany told the Discovery Channel that they hope to meet someone, get married and have children.
13. Abby and Brittany said they don’t mind being conjoined twins, but they still hate it when people stare at them or strangers take photos of them without their permission.
14. They were on the Oprah Winfrey Show when they were six!
15. They are obsessed with musical instruments and also love bowling and playing volleyball.
