indiana territory

THE HENSEL TWINS ON TLC

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Last night I watched an update show on the Hensel girls - Abby and Brittany - from a small town in Minnesota who are conjoined twins, each controlling one-half of a body shared by both. There have been shows about them before and I remembering reading about them several years ago when a national magazine caught my eye at the local library.

I remember them being able to ride a bike, hit a baseball; now, on this show last night, I watched them drive and type on the computer. I can - in a very vague way - see how they could "feel" the coordination of walking . . . but typing, with Abby doing the jklm hand and Brittany the fdsa left side is beyond me. A lot of the things they do are beyond me.

It strikes me the TLC of "The Learning Channel" could also stand for Tender Loving Care, but I don't feel that is what the girls have experienced; I think they have had totally normal loving care from their parents and family.

Because I am a snoopy sort of person, I did not wait for a formal update on the girls to catch up with them; I knew they were high school age and lived in Minnesota and by using Google found them at a Lutheran high school. In the pictures at the school site, I thought they looked a little sad. That was wrong. The girls in the show last night were happy and bubbly and comfortable with their situation . . . and their friends were comfortable with them.

Abby and Brittany said they were making the documentary to show people who they are - a pre-emptive strike against stares and people taking pictures. The thing is, however, that the girls are so pleasant and positive, you find yourself thinking, "What is there to stare at, to gawk at, to want to photograph? They are just two people . . . " Of course, it is not that simple - you know you yourself were fascinated enough to Google them. There is their medical condition and, yes, it invites interest and questions, but, on the other hand, there are the girls themselves. Given a chance, they totally eclipse the circumstance of their physiology.

Today is the twins' birthday; they turn 17.

Update: Oh, today is the 8th - so their birthday was yesterday. (Must have been pending DST that messed me up.)

posted by Jody @ 6:47 AM