This article appeared in www.brain-sharper.com and has been published here with permission.
Abby and Brittany Hensel are two very different girls with one big thing in common- they share the same body. The conjoined twins have been tackling every challenge that’s come their way since birth, and doing it all with smiles on their faces. When they were born, a doctor told their parents that he didn’t expect them to live until the next morning. Since their time on TLC, the twins have graduated from college, moved away from home, and even joined the work-force. The only question in our minds is what’s next for these over-achievers? They miraculously survived and have continued to exceed expectations since birth.
The Showstoppers
Abby and Brittany Hensel became internationally famous with TLC’s 2012 reality show Abby & Brittany.
WSL – Spurs
The show portrayed the conjoined twins in a positive light, showing the world that despite their different appearances, they are just as capable and fun-loving as any other teen. Where they are now is quite stunning…
Life In The Spotlight
Although TLC’s Abby & Brittany wasn’t released until August 2012, the Hensel twins have been no strangers to the public eye, having appeared in popular media sources since the mid-90’s.
Their first experience with fame came on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996, followed shortly by a cover feature in Life Magazine under the caption “One Body, Two Souls.” The article, titled The Hensels’ Summer, described the twins’ day-to-day life and was followed up just two years later.
Oprah
While today the twins don’t remember too much about the time Oprah Winfrey invited them onto her show over twenty years ago, the rest of the world still does.
Their appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show was really the first time the conjoined twins were exposed to such a large audience. Their story resinated with millions of Americans from all over the country and marked the beginning of a new chapter of fame, recognition, and popularity in the girls’ lives.
Television Celebrities
In 2002, the twins appeared on television for the first time in Joined For Life, a documentary created by Advanced Medical Productions and shown on the Discovery Health Channel, and again in a 2003 follow up called Joined At Birth.
In 2003, Life, along with Time published an updated story of the twins at age 11. In 2006, TLC put out their first television special about the twins called Joined For Life: Abby and Brittany Turn 16, and in 2007, they appeared in the UK series, Extraordinary People.
Growing Up Together
Abby and Brittany were born in Carver County, Minnesota to Patty, a registered nurse, and Mike Hensel, a carpenter and landscaper. They grew up with a younger brother and sister in New Germany, Minnesota.
Their childhood was full of struggles and challenges. The simplest of tasks that other children take for granted were extremely difficult for the conjoined twins to master. Because each twin only has control of half of their shared body, even crawling took a while to perfect.
Double Birthday Surprise
On March 7th, 1990, two beautiful babies came into this world with just one body. During Patty Hensel’s pregnancy, pre-natal scans had shown just one baby.
So when Patty gave birth to Dicephalus conjoined twins, it came as a huge shock to both parents. The twins had just a one in thirty million chance of living past the first twenty-four hours and the option of separation was quickly taken out of the equation because their body was so closely linked.
Success Stories
Make no mistake about it – Abby and Brittany’s story is nothing short of remarkable. It was clear as crystal though early on in their lives that it would be medically impossible to successfully separate them.
However, where the Hensel twins were unable to have such a successful feat performed on them, other conjoined twins were much more fortunate. On many occasions, separations have often costed the life of at least one twin, but there have been numerous success stories where both have survived…
Meet Kendra & Maliyah
One of the most notable successful separations in recent memory came a few years ago when conjoined twins Kendra and Maliyah Herrin underwent surgical separation.
They became the first set of conjoined twins ever to be separated while sharing a kidney. In order to successfully complete the procedure, Kendra kept the kidney they had once shared, while Maliyah received dialysis until she received a kidney from a donor. Of course, this isn’t the way that Abby and Brittany’s story was going to go.
They Shared A Liver, Pancreas & Intestines
Another incredible case that was successful against all the odds involved a pair of conjoined twins from the Dominican Republic.
Maria and Teresa Tapia’s hopes of separating were extremely slim as they were attached by their lower chests and abdomens. This made them omphalopagus, which meant that they shared a liver, a pancreas and even part of their small intestine. However, when they were just a year and a half old, the twins were successfully separated.
Not Everything Is Shared
The Hensel twins’ parents always made an effort to instill in their children a sense of individualism and independence, pushing both Abby and Brittany to develop their own personalities and become their own person.
They have also pushed the twins to step outside their comfort zones, and try new things, whether it’s a new sport or musical instrument. Discipline has proved rather difficult for the parents of the twins, considering it’s not exactly fair to punish both sisters for something only one of them did.