What Happened to the World’s Most Famous Siamese Sisters

Conjoined twins Abigail (Abby) and Brittany Hensel have been living a full and happy life for 29 years, despite physical difficulties, a risky surgery, lack of positive prognoses for a healthy life and people’s “crooked” looks. The girls continue to show that it is possible to overcome any barrier to achieve your dreams, if you really want to succeed in life.

we, from awesome.club, we delve into the lives of the girls thanks to the documentary Joined for Life and their own program, Abby & Brittany. Now we are ready to present to you, a little more closely, the lives of these sisters who exude happiness, joy and, above all, resilience. Check out!

Abby and Brittany were born on March 7, 1990, in Minnesota. The birth of the twins came as a real surprise to both the doctors and the parents who were expecting just one daughter. The ultrasound result did not even suggest the presence of any abnormalities or that there could be two fetuses.

During the delivery, the girls’ mother realized that something was wrong: the doctors panicked and did not show the baby for a long time. When the parents finally saw the twins, they immediately fell in love with their daughters, which surprised the doctors a bit.

The sisters’ lives were hanging by a thread from the first few minutes. According to statistics, out of 30 million conjoined twins, normally only one organism survives. The internal organs of the second body are rejected within the first 24 hours after birth. And despite the adverse prognosis, the sisters managed to overcome this obstacle and, year after year, they continued to grow and develop in the same way as the other children.

There was no discussion of “separating” the girls. This decision meant either the death of one of them or serious physical problems for both of them. And the twins themselves were against the operation. They were used to living together and always having a close person close by, who is ready to support you in everything you need.

The parents did everything possible to make the sisters feel normal as children, despite the lack of information about their case at that time. The family took the girls to a regular school, where they learned to ignore the “crooked” looks and create real friendships.

The Hensels’ mother has always refused to do any experiments on her daughters, even though it would help to better understand the condition and predict their physical and mental development over the years.

Two heads, two arms and legs, two backbones, three lungs, two hearts, a liver, two stomachs, three kidneys, a circulatory system for both and sexual organs also in common. The girls’ anatomy is unique, and doctors still haven’t been able to find an answer to why their “split” body works so well.

Each of the twins can only control their side, without feeling the touch on the other’s side. For example, Abby doesn’t feel like someone is shaking Brittany’s hand, and vice versa. As young girls, girls learned to synchronize their movements and coordinate all their actions so that they functioned as a single organism. But they did such an outstanding job that they learned not only to play the piano, but also to swim, ride a bicycle, and play sports.

Scientists believe the girls have common neural connections that have not been found in any other human being. With this, the twins can read each other’s thoughts, write emails without consulting each other, and even finish sentences at the same time. In addition, the most intuitive thoughts, such as the body’s needs, are also interconnected: when Abby wants to drink, Brittany starts to feel thirsty; when one wants to fix her hair or makeup, the other starts to help.

It is only a matter of time before developmental problems appear in such a complex organism. And at the age of 12, the twins faced one of them: Abby began to grow quite intensely, her spine quickly stretched, which almost caused the rupture of the chest they have in common. Doctors had to slow her growth to save the girls’ lives, but Abby still managed to grow at least 10 centimeters longer than Brittany. This therefore leaves Brittany constantly on her toes.

Visits to surgeons, neurologists and pediatricians have been a routine for the sisters since childhood. And despite constant checkups, Abby has had lung inflammation twice, and Brittany has had to spend weeks in bed with her sister.

Despite the similarities in appearance, Abby and Brittany have completely different characters and personalities. Abby is more introverted, likes to stay home at night, is more “bossy” and is afraid of heights. Brittany, in turn, despite being more quiet and attentive, likes to go out with friends more. Also, even the girls’ food tastes are divergent: Abby hates milk, and Brittany refuses to eat meat and fish.

During childhood, the girls argued a lot and even fought badly once. Nowadays, perhaps due to maturity, they can reach consensus very easily. For example, Abby likes purple, sister prefers gold. So they painted the bedroom walls purple and the shelves gold.

There is also some difficulty in choosing clothes. It’s hard for the twins to find comfortable pieces that they both like. After buying, by the way, corrections are needed so that the items fit well in the unique body of the two.

With that said, the two are always in agreement on one thing: they don’t like it when they’re photographed randomly, without being asked, and when people stare at them. They don’t mind answering questions from strangers or having a pleasant conversation, as long as they mean well. People, however, rarely understand the condition of the two and, therefore, the twins need to hide behind friends with some frequency.

At school, the twins took the tests separately. Each was given an individual variant, and the examiners were constantly watching to make sure they didn’t help each other. Almost always the girls’ grades were different. Abby was more of a “mathematics” mentality, and Brittany was more of a “human” one.

The girls also had the misfortune of taking the driving test twice on the same route. Abby controlled the pedals and switches, and Brittany watched the turn signals and headlights.

Entering university was another challenge the Hensel sisters had to face. Not only did they do it perfectly, but they also proved to the world, once again, that it is possible to lead a normal, active life with just one body for two people.

Girls have always gotten along well with children. During school holidays they worked as nannies and, perhaps because of this, they decided to become teachers.

By the way, when they were teenagers, they said repeatedly that they would like to have a big family in the future. Doctors have assured them that they are able to get pregnant, but this is a bit of a complex issue, as their bodies are divided for the two of them.

Now the girls have individual degrees and work at an elementary school, teaching different subjects: Abby teaches math and physics, and Brittany teaches literature and history. What may be a little strange is that they only receive a salary, which naturally leaves them frustrated.

Since 2002, the twins have been under the spotlight of the media and social networks, but a few years ago they decided to stop cooperating with journalists and even abandoned their social media pages. Perhaps this decision was made after a rumor circulated around the network that Brittany was engaged.

Despite the fact that conjoined twins are born very rarely — once in every 200,000 births — the Hensel sisters aren’t the only example of twins who lead active, happy lives.

Sivanath and Shivram Sahu were born in a small village in India in 2002. The brothers have 4 arms and 2 legs, but their trunks are connected in the abdomen area. In 2014, the conjoined twins turned down a proposal from doctors to surgically separate them.

parents abandoned Lori and George Schappell immediately after birth, when they turn the fused children’s heads. Despite this, George became a famous country singer, and Lori got engaged and even went bowling professionally.

Ronnie and Donnie Galyon are the oldest conjoined twins in the world (now 68 years old). Unfortunately, the brothers were not accepted in any school and, therefore, as illiterate people, they had to earn money by showing their bodies and telling their life stories.