So in that sense, we can do more than one person.” Public interest in the twins. “One can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions. “We have two degrees, and we are able to give two different perspectives or teach in two different ways. “As experience comes in we’d like to negotiate a little bit,” Brittany says. However, even though they are two different people, they are only recognised as one – and so earn only one salary, which is something that bothers them. The twins are currently working in their dream job as grade five teachers. On their 16th birthday, the twins took two written tests before they both got their own driving license.
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The sisters learnt how to drive together, with their driving instructor acknowledging it was a feat of co-ordination, with him not knowing which set of eyes was seeing the road and sending messages to the brain to steer the vehicle. So, it followed that they also needed to have separate drivers’ licenses. School was important to them, because college was always the aim, with Abby interested in maths, and Brittany in English studies.īoth twins sat entrance exams and were accepted into Bethel University, where they came to a compromise: they’d follow their shared passion for education and become teachers.Ībby and Brittany graduated with two separate degrees in education in 2012 and immediately began searching for employment.īrittany and Abby are by law recognised as individuals, with their own passports and birth certificates. Just as they were recognised at home for their separate identities and personal tastes, at school, the twins were treated as two unique students, with different interests and abilities. How Brittany and Abby were educated individually. To address the height issue, at 12, when it was discovered that Brittany had stopped growing, surgery was performed to hinder Abby’s growth.īoth twins have also had operations for scoliosis. It’s also meant that Abby is inclined to walk with the flats of her feet, whilst Brittany walks on her toes. The difference in the twins’ height has created an issue for their clothes and shoes, which usually need to be adjusted. Brittany and Abby’s height difference.Īt 158 cm, Abby, who is on the right, is taller than her sister, who is only 148 cm. The girls eat and drink separately, and have different tastes, but admit it’s easier to eat with utensils and have co-ordinated arm movements if they eat at the same time. In fact, Abby complains it’s “boring” being with her sister when she’s recovering from an illness in bed. Image: YouTube.īut make no mistake: Brittany and Abby are individuals.įor example, Brittany has often had a cold, and even had pneumonia, twice – but Abby hasn’t suffered the same issues. Their mother admits that sleeping is often uncomfortable for them, but apart from that, their innate ‘teamwork’ means they are incredibly co-ordinated. How do Brittany and Abby operate one body?Īfter 27 years of functioning in one body, the twins’ doctors still have little understanding of how two brains, which control one side of the body each, can co-ordinate themselves to do the actions and activities the twins can: write, get dressed, ride a bike, type on a keyboard, play the piano, and drive a car – or even simply walk – seamlessly.īut whatever the neurological explanation is, Brittany and Abby can function in their body with limited hindrance and astonishing accomplishment. This third arm was identified as being a hindrance to their overall movement, so when Brittany and Abby were young, it was removed. They do however only have three lungs between them, one liver, intestines, a set of kidneys, pelvis, ovaries, uterus and bladder.Īlthough their shared body now has two legs and two arms, the twins were born with three arms. The twins also have their own hearts, gallbladders and stomachs. Between 40 and 60 per cent are still born and 35 per cent survive for only one day.īrittany and Abby are known as dicephalus twins, meaning they share a torso, and one set of limbs, but have individual heads and brains – making them two individuals in one body.
How Abby and Brittany made history at their birth.Ĭonjoined twins are very rare, with their prevalence estimated to be 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000 births.
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