I was watching Oprah this afternoon and saw the previews for Wednesday's show about this 2 headed baby (I think her name was Rebecca & she died 2 years ago from sugery). It's really sad....but some of it doesn't make sense.
How can the 2nd head do what she is doing? Like when she is crying, her 2nd head will cry or when she's sleeping, her 2nd head will do the same. Sorry if this is confusing.....and also, don't u agree that it was too risky for Rebecca to have to get her 2nd head cut off? JMO.

And sorry, I couldn't find any pictures

I have always wondered the same thing myself. Such occurrances like this are rare, so there isn't too much known about why the second head can do what the first head does.

Anyway, I did some hardcore sleuthing on Google and found this link - you are talking about baby Rebeca, correct? I found a CNN article about her from February of 2004. Apparently Rebeca was born in December of 2003 and died during the surgery.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/02/07/dominican.surgery.ap/

The article says that Rebeca's case was the 8th documented case ever, very rare stuff.

I am searching right now, and I don't really see anything on Oprah's website about the baby. It just says there is a two-headed baby on the show on Wednesday and that it's an old episode, from May 19, 2005.

Yeah, this is quite interesting to research and find more information about. It appears that rare biological happenings in humans seem to come from South American countries, for some reason. Maybe the environment? At least, it seems like it based on articles I've read about this kind of stuff.

I am searching right now, and I don't really see anything on Oprah's website about the baby. It just says there is a two-headed baby on the show on Wednesday and that it's an old episode, from May 19, 2005.


Ooh, sorry, my bad....I should've known.

And yeah, it's one of those things that like one out of 2.5 billion will have.

Ooh, sorry, my bad....I should've known.

And yeah, it's one of those things that like one out of 2.5 billion will have.
It's OK. :) Sounds like they also talked about her on Oprah's show. This is definitely some fascinating stuff. I remember about 10ish years ago there were two young girl twins that were born together. Everything was joined except the heads. They shared one body - they had two arms and legs like any normal human being but they had two heads. I forgot what their names were and I have since long forgotten what they looked like. I think they were about 5 to 7 years old when I first heard about them, so I think they may be in high school by now. Oprah had them on her show too. I have always wondered what they were up to since I first heard about them. I think this was in 1996. Does anybody else remember who I am talking about? They were a pretty big deal in the 90's.

I remember about 10ish years ago there were two young girl twins that were born together. Everything was joined except the heads. They shared one body - they had two arms and legs like any normal human being but they had two heads. I forgot what their names were and I have since long forgotten what they looked like.
Ah! Yes, I remember them too!!!! I saw a couple of TV specials like on 20/20...those kinds of shows. Anyway, one of their names was Abby, but I can't remember the other name. They are teens now, so I wonder how they are doing....

Okay, I Googled her name. Here's a website dedicated to them.

Abby & Brittney Hensel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hensel_twins
http://www.geocities.com/heldenkline/Hensel.html
http://www.google.com/Top/Home/Family/Multiple_Births/Conjoined_Twins/Hensel,_Abigail_and_Brittany/

I haven't looked at it yet, as I wanted to post it ASAP. But I will be surfing around it to see if there are any updates.

I also remember seeing another set of conjoined twins. These ladies are older, and they are joined at the temples, I believe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/conjoined_twins_transcript.shtml

wow.. that's crazy

One thing I'm not fully grasping and that I really don't understand are the subtle differences, if there even are any. I don't know Rebecca's story and I really don't know anything about her, but here's my question:

How come Abby and Brittany, who do essentially share one body and who will always be fused together like this, are still two people (which is how it should be, afterall) but then the baby with two heads is simply named 'Rebecca'? Are they actually twins, or IS it in fact one person with two heads? I'm very intrigued to know about this, actually.

It's like the lines really ARE blurry in Rebecca's case, considering there are two heads and yet they do the same things at the same time. It makes me wonder...even simple things like blinking, smiling, etc. do both heads REALLY both do the same things at the same time? And later in life, if she speaks, are both heads going to be saying the same thing at once? It's such a mind boggling thing to imagine.

One thing I'm not fully grasping and that I really don't understand are the subtle differences, if there even are any. I don't know Rebecca's story and I really don't know anything about her, but here's my question:

How come Abby and Brittany, who do essentially share one body and who will always be fused together like this, are still two people (which is how it should be, afterall) but then the baby with two heads is simply named 'Rebecca'? Are they actually twins, or IS it in fact one person with two heads? I'm very intrigued to know about this, actually.

It's like the lines really ARE blurry in Rebecca's case, considering there are two heads and yet they do the same things at the same time. It makes me wonder...even simple things like blinking, smiling, etc. do both heads REALLY both do the same things at the same time? And later in life, if she speaks, are both heads going to be saying the same thing at once? It's such a mind boggling thing to imagine.

this is my guess.... now, keep in mind i haven't done research, so this assumption could EASILY be wrong...

Abby and Brittany have two seperate brains, two seperate personalities, and do look like two different people that are just kind of "stuck" together.

I'm assuming, sicne they were going to cut off hte head, the 2nd head on Rebecca was more of an extremlely abnormal growth sort of thing... didn't contain a personality, but more or less just was like an appendage so to speak.

Of course, I could be TOTALLY off.

I think that's a good guess to make, but I haven't seen baby Rebecca either, so I really can't say anything one way or the other about her, either.

It's just that having two heads, with two faces (I assume; although, I haven't seen her) both doing the same actions makes me think both heads must be fully functional. Then that leads to other complicated issues like...do both heads eat? Etc.

Mind you, though, what I'm picturing in my head is a baby with two actual heads on the body. Maybe it's something else entirely.

You're right, though. I guess when I think about it, if they were going to cut off one head, they must not have both been full actual heads or else...how would that even be possible?

I think that's a good guess to make, but I haven't seen baby Rebecca either, so I really can't say anything one way or the other about her, either.

It's just that having two heads, with two faces (I assume; although, I haven't seen her) both doing the same actions makes me think both heads must be fully functional. Then that leads to other complicated issues like...do both heads eat? Etc.

Mind you, though, what I'm picturing in my head is a baby with two actual heads on the body. Maybe it's something else entirely.

You're right, though. I guess when I think about it, if they were going to cut off one head, they must not have both been full actual heads or else...how would that even be possible?

Here ya go.. I think the thread starter might have been confused about the head on rebecca. I found this at a website... i'm going to do a little more research and see if i can fidn a picture, but i doubt I will be able too.

Conjoined twins (or Siamese twins) are often in the news, for example in Feburary 2004 when Rebecca Martinez was born with a second parasitic, half-formed head attached to her own. Sadly, Rebecca died shortly after an operation to cut off the extra head.
That tells me the 2nd head was not fully functional, as in the case with Abby and Britty

http://www.globalchange.com/conjoinedtwins.htm

Here is a very short blurb...
http://biology.about.com/b/a/062933.htm

http://biology.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://ww1.mid%2Dday.com/news/world/2004/february/75943.htm

http://ww1.mid-day.com/ArticleImages/images29/baby92200491542
Baby born with two heads bleeds to death
By: AP
February 9, 2004

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: An infant girl born with a second head bled to death on Saturday after complex surgery to remove her partially formed twin, her parents and doctors said.

A medical team completed the 11-hour operation on Friday night and said eight-week-old Rebeca Martinez died seven hours later. Doctors had warned after the surgery that the girl would be at great risk of infection or haemorrhaging.

“We knew this was a very risky surgery, and now we accept what God has decided,” Rebeca’s father, 29-year-old Franklin Martinez, said at a news conference with his wife. “Rebeca is no longer with us physically, but no one will forget her.”

“The girl lost a lot of blood in the operation, which apparently caused her to suffer a heart attack,” said Dr Jorge Lazareff, the lead surgeon. Friends and family donated almost 4 gallons of blood for surgeons to use during Rebeca’s operation.




http://biology.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://ww1.mid%2Dday.com/news/world/2004/february/75943.htm

There is the story of Rebecca.

Okay, it makes a lot more sense now, and I have to say that it's actually far more normal and realistic seeming now than what I had originally imagined in my head!!

Okay, I Googled her name. Here's a website dedicated to them.

Abby & Brittney Hensel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hensel_twins
http://www.geocities.com/heldenkline/Hensel.html
http://www.google.com/Top/Home/Family/Multiple_Births/Conjoined_Twins/Hensel,_Abigail_and_Brittany/

I haven't looked at it yet, as I wanted to post it ASAP. But I will be surfing around it to see if there are any updates.

I also remember seeing another set of conjoined twins. These ladies are older, and they are joined at the temples, I believe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/conjoined_twins_transcript.shtml
THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!! Wow, that's amazing. They turn 16 in March. It's been so long since I heard about them.

I bet they never thought they would be an entry on Wikipedia. :lol:

:eek: Whoaa

All of this is so interesting, but confusing.

About the Hensel twins.....they have the same body, right? Does that mean they both have to eat a lot less.....cause let's say Abby eats a big McDonalds meal and Brittany eats a big meal at another fast food restaurant.....that would be like eating 2 big lunches or something. This is really confusing....I've never really thought about this either. Cause they're not fat at all (or their "body").


And another thing....look at this picture! IDK who it is from, but how could two people share the exact same brain? That's freaky :(

wher did you get that pciture from? it looks very very photoshoped

wher did you get that pciture from? it looks very very photoshoped

From one of these links in this thread....its said to be real but it's extremeley rare

And another thing....look at this picture! IDK who it is from, but how could two people share the exact same brain? That's freaky :(
because there's only one brain, it's only one person with two bodies they're in control of. as far as the baby born with two heads, they each have minds of their own; they don't necessarily have the same feelings. but imagine the body...it must be extremely frustrating and saddening though to live your life without ever experiencing being your own physical person; basically all you are as an individual is a head.

nevertheless i think's very interesting. i read about a little boy who was born with two heads in the eighteenth century, i had no idea there were still cases of that. honestly, i think it's cool.

nevertheless i think's very interesting. i read about a little boy who was born with two heads in the eighteenth century, i had no idea there were still cases of that. honestly, i think it's cool.

Somehow, I think the people that it's actually happening to might be inclined to disagree with you.

Somehow, I think the people that it's actually happening to might be inclined to disagree with you.
cool to study, i mean. as i stated it would suck to be in that situation.

That's terribly sad. :(

because there's only one brain, it's only one person with two bodies they're in control of. as far as the baby born with two heads, they each have minds of their own; they don't necessarily have the same feelings. but imagine the body...it must be extremely frustrating and saddening though to live your life without ever experiencing being your own physical person; basically all you are as an individual is a head.

nevertheless i think's very interesting. i read about a little boy who was born with two heads in the eighteenth century, i had no idea there were still cases of that. honestly, i think it's cool.

Wow, that would be weird to have two bodies.....so like when it's eating, it'd feeding BOTH bodies?

Yes, very frustrating....it seems kind of impossible to be living with just a head and a neck. Very sad :(

Somehow, I think the people that it's actually happening to might be inclined to disagree with you.

She means cool to study. It's very interesting, but sad.

cool to study, i mean. as i stated it would suck to be in that situation.
Yes, I agree. It is very intriguing to study/research.

I'm sorry, I got Rebecca mixed up with Manar:

Both stories are really sad, but the good thing is that Manar survived.

WOW!! Now, I've never seen a case like Manar in my life.

This brings me back to the question I originally had about Rebecca, which got cleared up but now which I have again about Manar:

How come, technically, Manar is one person instead of two?

I'm sorry, I got Rebecca mixed up with Manar:

Both stories are really sad, but the good thing is that Manar survived.
Yeah...but that pic looks really photoshopped...

WOW!! Now, I've never seen a case like Manar in my life.

This brings me back to the question I originally had about Rebecca, which got cleared up but now which I have again about Manar:

How come, technically, Manar is one person instead of two?

The parastic head (the undeveloped twin) IS another baby who is still another person....she can cry and smile, but she just doesn't have a heart. So really, they are two people.

Yeah...but that pic looks really photoshopped...

They're not because it was in a lot of articles & it was on Oprah.

The parastic head (the undeveloped twin) IS another baby who is still another person....she can cry and smile, but she just doesn't have a heart. So really, they are two people.

That's what I would think, too...the lines are so blurry. It's like they ARE two people, yet they aren't.

Snopes says Manar is INDEED true. The picture is NOT photoshopped.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/medical/maged.asp

MSNBC article from February of last year, regarding Manar's surgery:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6998205/

Annnnnnnnnnnd a page on Oprah's website about Manar.
http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200505/20050519/slide_20050519_101.jhtml

By the way, that head did have a name -- Islaam.

I didn't watch Opera, but I know about these cases. It's perhaps the most bizarre medical abnormality that exists--craniopagus parasiticus--where a head is attached to another. And conjoined twins are definitely interesting as well and seeing all the kinds of ways they can be conjoined, whether they are like Abigail and Brittany or Manar and Islaam.

Now, about what makes a person a "real person." I don't have an exact answer, but from what I've seen, it seems that people are less inclined to refer to twin as a real person when there is no heart attached to them in the natural sense, like Islaam. It was Manar's heart keeping her brain alive, and more often than not she was regarded as "the head" or "the parasite." She wasn't even given the name "Islaam" until she was dead. Other twins born with just one heart will be considered two people though, when the one heart is attached to both of their chests. It's horrifying to me that a craniopagus paraciticus twin, especially one as fully developed as Islaam, was not considered a real person by most.

If anyone has Discovery Health channel and is interested in seeing an hour special about Manar and Islaam, you can check out "Born With Two Heads." It will be on again:

JAN 29 2006
@ 10:00 PM (EST TIME)

JAN 30 2006
@ 01:00 AM (EST TIME)

I've also seen the special on TLC, but it doesn't look like it will be on that channel anytime soon. But check it out if you can. It will talk about Rebecca's story and the other case that Sarah mentioned from the 18th century.

:eek2: OMG LOOK WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bighug:

That said...that special sounds interesting. Hopefully I can remember to watch it. :lol:

I saw that program with Manar. The surgery went thru and the parasite was removed. I personally think it is so sad. Manar will need help thru out her life. A lot of expense. I wonder how she is doing now. It must be a good year later from the surgery.

If anyone has Discovery Health channel and is interested in seeing an hour special about Manar and Islaam, you can check out "Born With Two Heads." It will be on again:

JAN 29 2006
@ 10:00 PM (EST TIME)

JAN 30 2006
@ 01:00 AM (EST TIME)
Thank you very much! I am intrigued by this story, so I will definitely mark this on my calendar so I won't forget. I want to see it.

Yeah, that was last April, so I am curious now as to how baby Manor is doing now.

Another four-page document with detailed information on the cranial information of such parasitic twins:

http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/186_bengalboy1.shtml