The exciting story of the conjoined twins that surprises the world

One body: this is the life that Carmen and Lupita Andrade have known for 22 years. Both are joined at the torso and share the pelvis, reproductive system and liver. Science calls them parapagus twins, i.e. those connected by the pelvis and an area or the entire abdomen. They live in the United States, where they arrived from Mexico in 2002 with the hope of an operation. But, of course, the operation was ruled out and since then the nuns are a true example of improvement.

“If we had a separation operation, one of us would die, we would both die or we would end up in intensive care and we would never get out,” revealed Lupita, the less extrovert of the two, in dialogue with Oggi. Their genetic condition has led them to face many challenges throughout their lives. Walking, for example, was one of the first.

Finding coordination and balance with one leg (each) was a great challenge that, over time, they managed to overcome.

Both live with their family in the state of Connecticut. Carmen is studying to be a veterinary nurse and Lupita hopes to work in the same field, even though she dreams of becoming a comedy writer. “I talk almost all the time, but she’s very funny,” said Carmen.

During their childhood they suffered comments and looks from “mean people”. Carmen recalled that “the children infantilized us and spoke as if we were children”.

He went on to add: “We are still close to the same people we grew up with. Lupita has a great intuition for people, so if she likes them, I like them.”

The sisters share a bloodstream, liver, and many internal structures. Though their connection goes beyond the physical: “I can feel when Carmen is anxious or about to cry. It’s the same knot in my stomach,” Lupita said.

“When we were almost 6, we had a nightmare where we were about to fall out of a plane and then we literally fell out of bed. It only happened once, but we can feel each other’s emotions. It happens all the time,” Carmen said.

couple life

For conjoined twins, life is nothing more than a series of challenges that they must overcome in order to grow and achieve their goals. They have learned to go to the movies, travel by plane or exercise even by observing others.

Lupita assured: “We have appointments. Well Carmen actually does.” Her sister is dating Daniel, a young man she met on a dating app, in October 2020.

“I’ve never tried to hide the fact that I’m Siamese, which means I’ve gotten a lot of messages from men with fetishes. I knew from the beginning that Daniel was different from the others because he didn’t start with a question about my condition,” she said.

“Daniel and my sister get along very well. It’s funny why I stay up later than Lupita, But when Daniel stays over, I fall asleep quickly and he stays up talking to her,” Carmen continued, noting that they also share a reproductive system.

On the sexual level, they did not go into detail, although Lupita indicated: “I’m asexual, but I want Carmen to settle down. I know it’s important to her.”

“We’ve been together for two and a half years and we’ve talked about getting engaged, but we want to live together first,” Carmen explained. “Sometimes I feel bad because I want to spend a lot of time with Daniel, so we try to make deals. Like Lupita choosing where to go out for dinner or what activity we’re going to do,” she explained.

Then he specified: “Lupita and I cannot get pregnant, we have endometriosis and we are also on a hormonal blocker that prevents us from having periods”.

“Sometimes at the end of the day we are exhausted and don’t want to talk. This is when we use different devices and do our own thing. I have my laptop to do schoolwork and Lupita puts on headphones and listens to music or uses the phone,” Carmen said.

“We have received some nasty comments. Many people are not used to people with disabilities setting or creating boundaries when it comes to their disability. We get a lot of questions about sex, how we go to the bathroom, and the like. But they must remember: We are not just Siamese twins, we are people”, completed.