When Lupita and Carmen Andrade were born in 2002, doctors were cautious in their prognosis. The girls were born joined at the abdomen, a rare case of Siamese twins.
Doctors openly told the parents that the babies would most likely not live to see their first birthday. However, fate decreed otherwise.
From the first day of life, the sisters had to share not only the attention of those around them, but also vital organs: several ribs, a liver, part of the circulatory, digestive and even reproductive systems.
Each controls only one leg: Carmen on the right, Lupita on the left. Learning to walk, keep balance and move in sync was a real challenge for them.
Modern medicine offered a solution – surgical separation. But Carmen and Lupita were against it from the very beginning. The risks were enormous, and the girls were not ready to pay for freedom at the cost of one of their lives.
But despite the physical connection, each of the sisters retains her individuality and the right to choose. One of them drives a car, the other is in love and has already accepted her beloved’s proposal of marriage.
Together they dream of becoming veterinarians and are already preparing to study in college, because both have loved animals since childhood and want to help them.
One of the most difficult tasks was choosing clothes. Finding a suitable uniform that would fit both at once and be comfortable seemed impossible.
A neighbor came to the rescue – a tailor who began to sew custom-made outfits, taking into account all the features of their bodies.
