OfPaolo Virtuani
Lori and George Schappell shared some vital parts of the circulatory system and 30% of their brains. George was a country singer, Lori won bowling tournaments
There oldest pair of Siamese twins still conjoined, Lori and George Schappell, died at the age of 62. The two were born in 1961 in Pennsylvania with partial fusion of their heads. They also shared some vital parts of the circulatory system and 30% of their brains.
One of the two declared he was transgender
The two died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, but it became known only several days later when an advertisement posted by a funeral services company appeared online. The causes of their deaths were not disclosed. Only in 2022 did the Guinness Book of Records recognize them as the oldest pair of conjoined twins; since 2007, when George declared himself transgenderthey also became the first pair of conjoined twins to identify as different genders.
Medicine challenged
The Schappell twins defied all odds medical beliefs, which had ensured that they would not live beyond 30 years. The two lived separate private lives, although they remained close. In fact George was a moderately successful country singer while Lori has won some bowling trophies. They have also appeared in numerous documentaries and television programmes. Lori was the most agile and pushed George, forced by spina bifida, in a wheelchair. In a 1997 documentary the question was asked whether they had ever felt the desire to separate. “No,” Lori replied. “We must not separate what has been united.”
April 25, 2024 (modified April 25, 2024 | 08:27)
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