The Hensel Twins

[#juan]

I watched a program last night about these twins, these two young ladies now, who for some reason, never quite separated into complete identical twins as infants. Some of the things they can do are miraculous to say the least. Each girl controls the limbs on her side but the two of them can run, and play sports, and type with two hands, and that just about blows my mind. During the program they showed the girls getting their driver's licence's, and driving.

Abigail Loraine Hensel and Brittany Lee Hensel (born 7 March 1990, Minnesota, United States) are dicephalic conjoined twins. Brittany ("Britty") is the left twin, and Abigail ("Abby") is the right twin. They have two spines which join at the pelvis. They have two stomachs, four lungs (they were originally thought to have three) and, originally, three arms when they were born. The middle arm between their heads was underdeveloped and useless, and was amputated when they were babies.
Abigail and Brittany Hensel's parents are Patty (a registered nurse) and Mike Hensel (a carpenter landscaper). When the twins were born, the parents chose not to have them separated. As they share many bodily functions, the operation would have been risky and would have left the twins in wheelchairs. They do not regret their decision. The twins themselves have stated that they do not wish to be separated.



http://tinyurl.com/yj8hup

http://tinyurl.com/yzhcz2

 

[Kreskin]

Amazing coordination. Nice to see they are living happy lives.

 

[Curiosity]

I know this is going to sound cold.... and I don't mean it to be ....

I have often wondered what kind of testing would result in different sets of ideas and dreams for if each girl has a functioning intellect - if they share the same IQ - same joy - same disappointment - etc. They clearly seem to have individual mental and neurological equipment and would it lead them to have separate identities while sharing a primarily physical body.

There is another set of twins I have seen on television who are joined at the head - which presents so many challenges I don't know how they get it done in their lives because both have distinct interests and traits - but they seem to be able to share their "own" time with the other as a passive member of the team until it is her turn.

I am so glad these girls have wonderful parents and a good family life....

 

[#juan]

In some ways, these girls are (lucky?) because they are physically adroit, and very well coordinated. At the time of the program, the girls were sixteen years old and obviously each had their own likes and dislikes. The program narrator talked briefly about boys and crushes and such, but for the girls, it was not yet an issue. These two young ladies seemed well adjusted, and happy, thanks, probably, to excellent parents. We can only hope that they can be as successful with the rest of their lives as they have been in the first sixteen years.

 

[Northboy]

I watched a program last night about these twins, these two young ladies now, who for some reason, never quite separated into complete identical twins as infants. Some of the things they can do are miraculous to say the least. Each girl controls the limbs on her side but the two of them can run, and play sports, and type with two hands, and that just about blows my mind. During the program they showed the girls getting their driver's licence's, and driving.

Abigail Loraine Hensel and Brittany Lee Hensel (born 7 March 1990, Minnesota, United States) are dicephalic conjoined twins. Brittany ("Britty") is the left twin, and Abigail ("Abby") is the right twin. They have two spines which join at the pelvis. They have two stomachs, four lungs (they were originally thought to have three) and, originally, three arms when they were born. The middle arm between their heads was underdeveloped and useless, and was amputated when they were babies.
Abigail and Brittany Hensel's parents are Patty (a registered nurse) and Mike Hensel (a carpenter landscaper). When the twins were born, the parents chose not to have them separated. As they share many bodily functions, the operation would have been risky and would have left the twins in wheelchairs. They do not regret their decision. The twins themselves have stated that they do not wish to be separated.



http://tinyurl.com/yj8hup

http://tinyurl.com/yzhcz2

If that's what they've decided, I'm sure that they will have a happy life.....