actually, i think that's marty feldman, appearing on fox news after stealing abbie hoffman's shirt.

What happened to Abby Newman after this?

With Ultimate Respect

Hello Young Ladies,

I would first like to say that you are a true inspiration to me and I'm sure millions of other people around the world. Abby and Brittany, you should be very proud of yourselves. Also, you should be equally proud of your parents for raising such lovely, respectful young women. I myself, have an 18 year old daughter whom is the true love of my life. Her name is Talisa Nicole. She was born on September 29, 1988 a healthy and beautiful baby. I think the thing that makes me the proudest of Talisa is that she is such a caring, honest and self-respected person. In addition to those qualities, she has a tremendous amount of respect for all people of the world, no matter their color, their nationality, their religion or most importantly, their physical appearance. Accordingly, she is alo an inspiration to me her mother, all of her friends, and anyone who has the pleasure of meeting her. Girls, I would like to say to you both, I hope all of your wishes and dreams in life come true. I hope and pray that one day you both through the grace of God will experience motherhood as I truly believe you will both make unbelievable mothers and I believe that your children deserve to be brought into this world my two such beautiful and caring women such as yourselves. In closing I would like to gongratulate your parents Mike and Patty for being such wonderful parents in I'm sure so many ways. Last but not least, Girls please never be detered by anything in life, always give it your best shot, and God will take over from there.

God Bless and God Speed,

Kindest regards,

Michael Cervini, a truly proud and loving parent

Dear Abbie, what's a cameltoad?

this looks like a culmination of the documentaries they've had filmed about themselves all mashed together ... my daughter and i found it sooooooo interesting that when brittany was embarrassed ... they both pulled their hands up to cover her face (we even rewound that bit when we watched their recent docu on tv). they were also filmed when the same thing occured to abby! this just goes to show their teamwork and how they (obviously) function as one unit beautifully!

choggie, the downvote button is there for a reason. All power to you if you want to downvote this. We're all going to see this somewhat differently.

I'd be uncomfortable about this video if I thought that the girls were unwilling or duped into appearing in this show, but they, their parents, their teachers and their peers seem to treat their lives as unusual but normal, if that makes any sense. Abby and Britney have given us permission to look at their televised images as long as we want, so I don't feel guilty about looking and I chose to upvote this video.

I've just started reading Daniel Gilbert's "Stumbling on Happiness" (his TED video is here). The opening paragraphs in chapter 2 describe another pair of conjoined twins:

Lori and Rena Schappel may be twins, but they are very different people. ... [T]here are just two unusual things about Lori and Reba. The first is that they share a blood supply, part of a skull, and some brain tissue, having been joined at the forehead since birth. ... The second unusual thing ... is that they are happy -- not merely resigned or contented, but joyful, playful and optimistic. Their unusual life presents many challenges, of course, but as they often note, whose doesn't? When asked about the possibility of undergoing surgical separation, Reba speaks for both of them: "Our point of view is no, straight out no. Why would you want to do that? For all the money in China, why? You'd be ruining two lives in the process."

So here's the question: If this were your life rather than theirs, how would you feel? If you said, "Joyful, playful and optimistic", then you are not playing the game and I am going to give you another chance. Try to be honest instead of correct. The honest answer is "Despondent, desperate and depressed." Indeed, it seems clear that no right-minded person could really be happy under such circumstances, which is why the conventional medical wisdom has it that conjoined twins should be separated at birth, even at risk of killing one or both. ... Everyone know[s] that conjoined twins will be dramatically less happy than normal people ... . And yet, ... an exhaustive search of the medical literature ... found that the "desire to remain together to be so widespread among communicating conjoined twins as to be practically universal." Something is terribly wrong here. But what?

This is what impresses me about this video. Abby and Britney seem to be as genuinely content and happy as Lori and Reba. They are not bravely soldiering on in face of a terrible disability, but they are living their normal and happy lives. What I hope to learn from their experiences is not something about the nobility of the human spirit under stress (which may be a valid lesson to draw from other situations), but how individual and flexible the path to normalcy and happiness can be. I'm curious about their lives, and unashamed of that, but I don't think I'm condescending to them, either.

Thanks for the provocative discussion and the chance to promote Gilbert's book, too.

it's actually a small private lutheran academy, halon.

i think we squirm when we see this because humans are so into their own individuality ... we can't imagine another person always being there with us. if you were born this way it would not seem abnormal to you to ... go to the bathroom, explore your body, take a shower, etc ... i think the hensel's have done a beautiful job raising their daughters!


In reply to your comment, wumpus:

“I wish I had seen the whole documentary too since I have questions of my own...like since they share the same body, does one head do all the eating?” no, they each eat and have their own likes/dislikes and do not share an esophagus nor stomach ... they do, however, share a large and small intestine.

If they get hurt, do they feel the same pain? it depends on where they were injured ... if it was the left arm or leg, then abby feels the pain ... if it's on the right, then brittany feels the pain.

Also since they have separate brains, does one have primary motor control, or do they often come into conflict? this is why i felt choggie's original comment was out of place ... abby & brittany possess some of the most amazing qualities in cooperation, compromise, and conflict resolution. since birth, they have figured out how to run, walk, clap, drive, pass papers back and forth, swim, bike ride, play piano, send emails, etc ... this is only possible through their learned coordination with each other.

Can one feel happy while the other feels sad? absolutely!! in their own words, they are “just two people…stuck together.” ”