Conjoined twins born in China, two heads share one body.
[www.telegraph.co.uk]

Their innocent little baby faces broke my heart. How does this happen? This is a SERIOUS defect that the body would have/should have aborted, no? What the h ell was that mother exposed to? Those poor little girls, how will they live?

Twins that don't differentiate are rare but they generally do OK if provided with sufficient resources. Wishing the little ones and their parents much luck.

Which will control the body since they both have a spine, will one be dominant? Will it be both of them, will they be fighting each other for movement when one wants to do one thing and the other another? They will never be able to go anywhere or be seen by anyone without stares and comments and possibly worse. My mind goes all over the place for the little dears.

Take heart, kiddo!:

[www.youtube.com]

coco, u say:

<<They will never be able to go anywhere or be seen by anyone without stares and comments and possibly worse.>>

being stared at and having comments levied at you is not the worst thing that can happen to the individual(s)

like anyone else that is "unique", people find strategies to deal with being different. if the individuals value themselves, most people will come around and see that they are simply human beings and treat them according to their character



<<Which will control the body since they both have a spine, will one be dominant? Will it be both of them, will they be fighting each other for movement when one wants to do one thing and the other another?>>


most conjoined twins learn to cooperate with each other not just in physical coordination, and movement but in all decision making processes ... because they have to...
actually, we could learn a lot from them
if the rest of the world could cooperate with each other as well as most conjoined twins do... maybe there would be world peace



<<My mind goes all over the place for the little dears.>>

the twins ( in the video tamukha posted) say that they are fine with who they are... i remember years ago reading an article about them in LIFE magazine in which they proclaimed that they actually felt "lucky" and even "luckier" than most of their fellow human beings because they feel like they are "not alone" and "always have someone they can talk to"

it looks like, years later... they have not changed their mind
and they are sincerely sticking to their story


also, you might consider changing the topic line of your post
i'm not too sure how many people would be thrilled to be considered a "WTF of the day" simply due to a physical condition... i would attribute a "WTF of the day" to something atrocious that someone has done

dignity is an inside job

it can't be handed on a plate and given to you

it must be usurped from within



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2011 07:46PM by la_veronique.

One last point, in a natural world without the intervention of surgeons trained to perform a cesarean section trying to give birth to those twins would have ripped their mother apart and been the painful, gruesome, bloody death of her. That is not what nature intended, it's a serious physical flaw, a deadly one.
This is my point, not that those girls aren't valuable human beings, that they shouldn't exist now that they are here, that they are incapable of self worth etc. Don't take this all out of context, that was never my point.

Very interesting discussion. I think the bottom line is do we believe that this is a random, chaotic Universe or do things happens as they are meant to? Even when that means that they don't look "right." What about conception that isn't "right," as in the product of rape? I have always been against abortion for this very reason. I am not one of those who thinks that women who have abortions are murderers, but I once had a classmate in college who was the product of rape and she was a dear soul. The world would be darker without her presence. And I take exception to those who want amnio to determine whether or not to abort an "imperfect" fetus, a la Down's Syndrome. A man once repulsed me when he stated that if amnio showed that his kid had Down's, he wouldn't allow the pregnancy to continue. Guess what? His child was born with a disability (mother was on drugs when pregnant). But I guess they couldn't detect it at the time of the amnio...

That's sad for him, I hope he found a way to connect and love his child fully.

I personally would terminate a down's syndrome pregnancy. That is like having a 5 year old for life and what do you do when you get too old to take care of them? How about after you pass away? That may sound harsh but that's how I feel. These ordinary kids kick my arse, a special needs child would be beyond my capacity to deal with.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2011 07:51PM by coco.

Hey, it's one main reason why I don't have kids. I have friends with a blind son and he is in his 20s living with them. I think you are supposed to have the child leave and become independent for this very reason. I think they are a bit overprotective and probably cannot stand the idea of the day when he's there without them. It's wrenching, I'm sure, which is why they should ween him away from them gradually. When I was growing up there was an older girl with mental retardation and her parents had her put in independent housing and I think she works and functions independently. It's really great because it deals with reality, which is that one day the disabled person will be without the parents.

My youngest brother is schizophrenic and while he lives in independent housing and has an "action team" to monitor him now and then, he still relies heavily on family and will sometimes not take medication and end up in a mental hospital. He needs his parents to advocate for him, either that or my sister or I will have to take over that task and we both have young children of our own and are scrambling to keep our own lives on track. Of course his condition was not detectable in utero but it's along the same lines as any other disability. Either a child's parents/family maintain a high level of parental activity and responsibility until they die or are no longer capable and then their child is left to the tender mercies of the world or they foster some independence early on and hope for the best, again their child is left to the tender mercies of the world. Some schizophrenics and some people with down's syndrome are not and never will be capable of taking care of themselves, it can be a VERY hard life for them and their families. And hardly anyone is out there willing to adopt a baby with those sorts of challenges. Until society takes up the mantle of responsibility for all children these ones more often than not get lost between the cracks or worse. I would not wish that on anyone.

I hear you. And this situation with the Chinese (Siamese) twins is really something. How do you handle something like that? I just can't imagine what it must be like to have that happen.

They mentioned being afraid that they won't be able to afford the care, I suspect the twins will become wards of the state. At least here in Canada there is some gov't financial support for parents of children with special needs. It doesn't cover everything but it's a bit of help. I can't imagine the stress and pressure parents of children with special needs go through. I know a few families who's children have cancer and other serious illnesses, one parent stays home and they live as well as best they can afford on one salary. It's very difficult for them, heartbreakingly so. One boy is in the hospital every week or so, his immune system is so depressed from the cancer treatment that he gets every single bug his siblings bring home and they all land him in intensive care. All they can do is hope for remission, at least he has a chance to recover from his medical issues.

there's not much more to be said

except for

everything else that hasn't been spoken