The world's oldest
living conjoined twins have defied doctors' predictions and reached their 50th
birthday.
The Sun| George and Lori
Schappell, who are joined at the head, celebrate their special day Sunday.
And the pair is
marking the landmark birthday with a trip to London.
Remarkably, the
twins are able to live very different and separate lives, with Lori having had
relationships and George, who was born Dori and later changed her name to Reba
— deciding to live life as a man.
"When we were
born, the doctors didn't think we'd make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori
said. "We have learned so much in the last 50 years and will continue
living life to the full."
While Lori, who is 5
feet, 1 inch, was born able-bodied, 4-foot-4-inch George suffers from spina
bifida, which has caused severe mobility problems.
As George cannot
walk, he sits in a wheelchair-type stool which Lori pushes so the two can move
together.
"Most people
don't believe us but we do have very normal lives,” George said.
The twins, from
Pennsylvania, were born sharing 30 percent of their frontal lobe brain tissue
and critical blood vessels, meaning they cannot be separated.
"I have known
from a very young age that I should have been a boy,” George said, who began
living as a man four years ago. "It was so tough, but I was getting older
and I simply didn't want to live a lie. I knew I had to live my life the way I wanted."
Although the pair
are both single, Lori has dated men.
Throughout the
1990s, George had a successful music career as singer Reba Schappell and won an
LA Music Award for Best New Country Artist.
The famous pair have
been the subject of television documentaries, appeared on talk shows and even
made a cameo appearance on the TV drama series “Nip/Tuck.”
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