The Bittersweet Life Of The World's Longest-Surviving Conjoined Twins

October 28, 1951, was the special day that marked the birth of Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon the twins from Ohio, the US. From that day, their life was literally tied to another as they are one of a few conjoined twins who lived the longest time of 69 years. How did they survive while their bodies stuck to each other for nearly 7 decades, keep scrolling down for the special story of the world's longest-surviving conjoined twins.

The pair spent their first two years in the hospital as their parents hope that their bodies can be separated.

Although they have separate hearts, stomach, arms and legs, they only have one set of lower digestive organs that’s why not any doctor can guarantee both can survive after the operations. So having the conjoined body and living face-to-face to each other is the only way for their twins to save their lives.

Living in a family of 9 kids, the conjoined twins were sent to the circus to make money at the age of three. They worked for the legendary carnival impresario Ward Hall and were popular under the name marquis “Alive in person – Galyon Siamese twins!”

However, the pair faced a real problem as no school allowed the conjoined twins as it was distracting to other students. They continued to go on circus shows around the US and Canada then moved to South America. They became famous in the Central and South America.

It was struggling for the conjoined twins to learn how to do everything, from how to walk with 4 legs, tying their shoes to using the toilet. All easy stuff turns so complex and challenging when you have 4 legs and arms.

In addition to that, it was way more difficult to live in harmony with each other especially as teenage brothers. There were quarrels and fights but they realized that by hitting each other, they were hitting themselves. The pair started to communicate instead of fighting which made them understand more about each other.

The pair are siblings and best friends who share everything in life, including their bodies together. As it’s impossible to get married, they lived in the other in their own house in Dayton until breathing their last breath together on July 5th 2020. Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon died at the age of 68 and broke the record as the longest-surviving conjoined twins in the world.

Despite many ups and downs in their life, the pair stated that they had a nice life, they had fun, they lived and died with no regrets.