Reading Conjoined Twins Never Want To Be Separated
Schappel Twins Say They Lead Separate Lives Together
POSTED: 8:23 p.m. EDT July 8, 2003
UPDATED: 11:43 a.m. EDT July 9, 2003
READING, Pa. -- The deaths of Iranian conjoined twins during an operation to separate them this week is especially poignant to two women in Reading, Pa. because they have also lived their lives joined at the head.
While the Bijani twins of Iran felt they just had to live separate and apart, the Schappel twins have always been dead set against being separated -- even though they say doctors could successfully do it.
The women say they already live separate lives together, and they would never take the chance that one or both of them could be injured or die.
Lori and Reba Schappell are joined at the side of their heads but share no organs. They said they never think about being separated. Reba feels sorry for the Bijani twins, who died in their separation surgery.
"God bless them. They're up in a better place. They really are separated now," Reba told NBC 10 medical reporter Cherie Bank. "I respect everybody's wishes. They might not be mine, or my sister's, but I do respect everybody's wishes, because when you respect others, they respect you."
Lori is not as understanding.
"I wouldn't do it and I didn't think they should either. I don't think anybody should mess with what the good Lord made. He had a reason for it and you should find out what the reason is," Lori said.
Lori said she and Reba have a zest for life and they do lead separate lives. Reba loves the computer, her turtle, Valentine, and her dog, Mimi.
"(Mimi) means everything. She's my sanity. She loves me for who I am, and she's the coolest little dog alive," Reba enthused.
Reba told Bank that Matt Damon has just asked her to sing in a new movie he's making.
Bank asked Lori what she does while Reba is singing or acting.
"I'm just there. Nobody even notices or talks to me. Nobody notices. ... Really. ... Her fans are there for her only, and they do not ask her one thing about a conjoined twin," Lori explained.
Lori said she likes to cook and take care of the house.
These twins said they even have their own separate social lives. Lori told Banks she has a boyfriend.
"When we're out he isn't concentrating on Reba. Reba is not there. I'm there. He's interested in me," Lori said.
Not only are Lori and Reba conjoined twins, Reba was born with spina bifida, so Lori has to lift her on and off a wheeling chair in order for them to move around.
But Reba and Lori said wouldn't have it any other way.
While the Bijani twins of Iran felt they just had to live separate and apart, the Schappel twins have always been dead set against being separated -- even though they say doctors could successfully do it.
The women say they already live separate lives together, and they would never take the chance that one or both of them could be injured or die.
Lori and Reba Schappell are joined at the side of their heads but share no organs. They said they never think about being separated. Reba feels sorry for the Bijani twins, who died in their separation surgery.
"God bless them. They're up in a better place. They really are separated now," Reba told NBC 10 medical reporter Cherie Bank. "I respect everybody's wishes. They might not be mine, or my sister's, but I do respect everybody's wishes, because when you respect others, they respect you."
Lori is not as understanding.
"I wouldn't do it and I didn't think they should either. I don't think anybody should mess with what the good Lord made. He had a reason for it and you should find out what the reason is," Lori said.
Lori said she and Reba have a zest for life and they do lead separate lives. Reba loves the computer, her turtle, Valentine, and her dog, Mimi.
"(Mimi) means everything. She's my sanity. She loves me for who I am, and she's the coolest little dog alive," Reba enthused.
Reba told Bank that Matt Damon has just asked her to sing in a new movie he's making.
Bank asked Lori what she does while Reba is singing or acting.
"I'm just there. Nobody even notices or talks to me. Nobody notices. ... Really. ... Her fans are there for her only, and they do not ask her one thing about a conjoined twin," Lori explained.
Lori said she likes to cook and take care of the house.
These twins said they even have their own separate social lives. Lori told Banks she has a boyfriend.
"When we're out he isn't concentrating on Reba. Reba is not there. I'm there. He's interested in me," Lori said.
Not only are Lori and Reba conjoined twins, Reba was born with spina bifida, so Lori has to lift her on and off a wheeling chair in order for them to move around.
But Reba and Lori said wouldn't have it any other way.
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