This is one of the rarest things which would come to somebody’s head. But yeah, this mode of existence persists. They are commonly known as “conjoined twins” and the biological terms to refer to them is “Dicephalic Parapagus Twins”.
These kinds of twins have a high symmetry for existence which gives an appearance of having a single body without any marked variations from the normal proportions. But each twin is known to have a separate heart, stomach, spine, pair of lungs, and a spinal cord.
As far as the body controls are associated, each twin controls his or her side of the body. As they have only two legs and two arms in total, each twin controls one leg and one arm.
Various activities such as eating and writing can be done separately by them, but activities such as swimming, driving, etc need high level of coordination amongst themselves.
Though these twins share the same body, they have different immune systems. So if one twin has fallen extremely sick, the other one can remain in a good of health.
This existence is so rare that only 4 sets of conjoined twins exist today who share an undivided torso and two legs and have survived into the adulthood. One such set of twins are Abby and Brittany Hensel.
The story of Abby and Brittany Hensel
Abby and Brittany were born in the Carver Country, Minnesota, USA. They are aged 28 years and have pursued their education from Mayer Lutheran High School and Bethel University. They went to school like other normal kids and enjoyed reading and writing. They could perform the tasks of reading and write individually. In fact like the other conjoined twins they can perform the tasks of reading and writing individually but need coordination when it comes to brushing their hair and driving.
Upon their birth, their parents Patty and Mike Hensel decided not to attempt surgical separation after hearing from the doctors that it was not likely that both would survive the operation. As they developed and figured out how to walk and create different aptitudes, their folks affirmed their ruling against division, contending that the personal satisfaction for the enduring twin or twins living independently would be not exactly their personal satisfaction as conjoined people.
The twins have a solitary body with discrete heads and necks, a chest that is more extensive than ordinary, two arms, and two legs. During childbirth, they had a simple arm between the bases of their necks connected to a shoulder bone at the back, being consolidated parts of Abby’s left arm and Brittany’s correct arm. It was expelled, leaving the shoulder bone.
Abby’s head tilts along the side outward around 5 degrees to one side, while Brittany’s tilts horizontally at around 15 degrees to one side, making her seem shorter notwithstanding when situated. Brittany’s leg is in certainty about two inches shorter than Abby’s and Brittany will in general stand and stroll on pussyfoot which has made her lower leg muscle altogether bigger than Abby’s. The proceeded with development of Abby’s spine was precisely ended after Brittany rashly halted growing. At age 12, they experienced medical procedure at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare to address scoliosis and to extend their chest hole to avoid future challenges with breathing.
Each twin oversees one side of their conjoined body. The feeling of touch of each is limited to her body a large portion of; this shades off at the midsagittal plane with the end goal that there is a little measure of cover at the midline. Stomach hurts, in any case, are felt by just the twin on the inverse side.
They are powerful in helpfully utilizing their appendages when the two hands or the two legs are required. By organizing their endeavors, they can walk, run, swim, and ride a bike regularly—all errands that they learned at an ordinary speed. Together, they can type on a PC console at an ordinary speed and drive a vehicle. Nonetheless, their unique statures (Abby, 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m), is taller and longer of leg than Brittany, 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)) prompted trouble in adjusting a Segway, as appeared in their 2012 reality series.
The twins both passed their driver’s permit tests, both the composed and driving tests. They needed to step through the exams twice, once for each twin. Abby controls the gadgets on the privilege of the driver’s seat; Brittany, those on the left. Together they control the directing wheel.
They both moved on from secondary school in 2008. They started school at Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minnesota, studying instruction. They had thought about seeking after various fixations inside that major, however, the volume of additional coursework was prohibitive. They graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in 2012.
In a discussion, the twins are unmistakably particular people, with unmistakable preferences. Their inclinations in sustenance, attire shading, and so on., contrast. A portion of their garments is modified by their needleworker with the goal that they have two separate neck areas so as to accentuate their independence. They, as a rule, have separate suppers, however here and there offer a solitary feast for accommodation (e.g., each taking a nibble of a similar ground sirloin sandwich). Abby is better at arithmetic, and Brittany at composing.
For errands, for example, reacting to email, they type and react as one, foreseeing each other’s sentiments with minimal verbal correspondence between them. In such cases as the last mentioned, their decision of linguistic individual is to utilize “I” when they concur, yet utilize their names when their reactions do vary.
There is some worry about the twins’ proceeded with great wellbeing, in light of the fact that just four known arrangements of conjoined twins who share a unified middle and two legs have ever made due into adulthood, and most have intrinsic heart deserts or other organ abnormalities. None has appeared for their situation.
They seriously detest being gazed at or captured by outsiders while approaching their private lives. In meetings for the Discovery Channel in 2006, they, at that point 16, said that they would have liked to date, get hitched, and have youngsters. They likewise expressed that they trusted that by giving some data about themselves, they would have the capacity to lead generally genuinely run of the mill social lives.
The twins progress has been covered in the media, in the Life magazine and the Oprah Winfrey Show.