18-year-old Siamese twin sisters Neave and Nelly Kolstein have two fully developed healthy bodies, but in the head area they have grown so much that in fact they have one head for two, including a large common artery, which makes them impossible operate.
The sisters were born in South Africa, and they were brought to the Netherlands in an attempt to help and for examination. Then there was still hope for separation and the sisters' parents really wanted it.
Siamese twins of this type are called craniopagus, they are very rarely born and even less often live to a conscious age. And each such case is a real challenge to doctors and psychologists.
Because of their anomaly, Neave and Nellie suffered severe abuse from other children and even adults as children. The words "Freaks" and "Monsters" were among the softest in their address.
The girls' mother did not know until recently that she would have Siamese twins, and when they were born, the doctors said that with a high degree of probability they would die in a few days. And if they do survive, they will at most survive to ten years.
Now the sisters are 18 years old and they are desperately trying to live like ordinary people. They know how to fully serve themselves and do without outside help. They also never wanted to be separated, saying that they were fine with each other.
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The twins have their own YouTube channel and Instagram page, and they want to show that they are not just people with disabilities, but people are no worse than others.
In Amsterdam, the sisters live in the home of their older sister Rosianne, who is a doctor. It was she who insisted that the sisters be brought to the Netherlands and carefully examined. However, other doctors immediately realized that the blood vessels in the girls' common heads were incredibly entangled and that some served two brains at once. Therefore, separation cannot be made without the risk of death for one or both.
However, when the girls turned 16, they got tired of hiding from everyone. They set up accounts on the Internet and started talking about themselves. They have become more confident and want people to learn more about them and stop thinking of them only as disabled.