Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, according to funeral home officials. They were 62.
The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg. The cause of death was not detailed.
바카라When we were born, the doctors didn바카라t think we바카라d make 30, but we proved them wrong,바카라 Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. George came out as transgender in 2007.
The twins, born Sept. 18, 1961, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, had distinct brains but were joined at the skull. George, who had spina bifida and was 4 inches shorter, was wheeled around by Lori on an adaptive wheeled stool. Despite each having to go where the other went, it was 바카라very important바카라 to both 바카라to live as independently as possible,바카라 the obituary said.
Both graduated from a public high school and took college classes. George went along for six years as Lori worked in a hospital laundry. Lori 바카라 바카라a trophy-winning bowler,바카라 according to the obituary notice 바카라 gave up the job in 1996 so her sibling could launch a country music career.
바카라Since the age of 24, they have maintained their own residence and have traveled extensively,바카라 the obituary notice said. Over the years, they appeared in many documentaries and talk shows, as well as in an episode of the FX medical drama 바카라Nip/Tuck.바카라
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Lori was once engaged to be married but that her fiance died in an automobile accident.
바카라When I went on dates,바카라 Lori said, 바카라George would bring along books to read.바카라
The twins said in a 1997 documentary that they had different bathing schedules and showered one at a time. George spoke of giving someone you love and respect 바카라the privacy and compromise in situations that you would want them to give you.바카라 Lori said compromise meant 바카라you don바카라t get everything you want right when you want it.바카라
Conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births when identical twins from a single embryo fail to separate. About 70% are female, and most are stillborn. Only a small percentage are joined at the head, with nearly three-quarters joined at the chest and others at the abdomen or pelvis.
Separation was deemed risky for the Schappell twins, but Lori Schappell told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview at the twins바카라 apartment in a high-rise seniors complex that she didn바카라t think such an operation was necessary in any case.
바카라You don바카라t mess with what God made, even if it means you enjoy both children for a shorter time,바카라 she said. In the 1997 documentary, George also strongly ruled out the idea of separation, saying, 바카라Why fix what is not broken?바카라
It isn바카라t immediately clear who will now take the title of oldest living conjoined twins. The oldest ever documented were Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, who died in 2020 at age 68. Eng and Chang Bunker, the 19th century 바카라Siamese Twins바카라 who gained fame as a circus act, lived to be 63.
The Schappell twins바카라 survivors include their father and six siblings. Private services are planned, the funeral home said.
