The story of conjoined twins, the Blazek sisters, one of whom gave birth to a child
Can Siamese twins give birth to children? Modern doctors say that everything depends on the specific case - everything depends on the features of their connection. For the first time, one of the Siamese twins became a mother at the beginning of the 20th century. And in those days, childbirth, even for ordinary mothers, was associated with many deadly dangers.
The Blazek couple were ordinary peasants with little income. They farmed and raised a daughter. In 1877, the family was expecting another addition. Mr. Blazek expected that his wife would give him a son - a reliable assistant and the future master of the house. Many things indicated that this would be the case - the size of the pregnant woman's belly indicated that she was carrying a real giant.
On January 20, 1878, Mrs. Blazek went into labor. It was difficult and lasted for many hours. As a result, twin girls Rosie and Joseph were born. To the horror of their parents and midwives, they were born joined back to back. Doctors found out that this was due to incomplete separation of identical twins in the embryonic period.
The birth of Siamese twins is rare, but it does happen sometimes. But this case was unique. Most often, such children grow together with soft tissue. But Rosie and Joseph were also connected by bone and cartilage tissue. They had an intertwined cartilaginous ligament near the spine starting from the ninth vertebra, and the bones of the small pelvis were also fused. All internal organs were separated.
A few days after the birth, the couple brought the unusual babies to a local witch doctor. The doctors admitted that medicine was powerless here, and the Blažeks decided to find out if magic or herbs would help. The witch doctor just shrugged her shoulders, but advised not to feed the girls for eight days and observe what would happen.
Let's say right away that in the case of children, such experiments usually end fatally. But Rosie and Joseph were not ordinary children. It is not clear why, but the babies lived for more than a week on water alone. After that, the parents decided to accept the trouble and accept the girls as they are. According to another version, the dark but kind peasants endured only two days, and then began to feed the sisters.
Rosie and Josepha grew up as the most ordinary children. They loved to play with their older sister and even helped their parents with the housework as much as they could. The twins' characters were very different. Rosie was active, cheerful and noisy, while Josepha was quiet and modest.
Despite this, the girls got along well with each other. Later, one of their relatives would say:
The sisters attended a regular school and were seriously interested in music. Their parents supported their desire for knowledge and art in every possible way, because they understood perfectly well that the girls would not be able to support themselves with physical labor. When the twins turned 14, the family moved to France. There, the father and mother turned to doctors for the last time with a request to separate the sisters. But the French specialists also refused.
To help their parents, Rosie and Josepha signed a contract with one of the theaters. It was the end of the 19th century — the heyday of "freak shows" and "human menageries." Educated, pretty and talented girls quickly conquered the public. They sang, danced and played musical instruments. Recognition was not long in coming. The sisters began to earn good money, and their work brought them genuine joy, which only increased their success.
But in 1906, something unexpected happened - Rosie fell in love. Her chosen one was an officer who turned her head and surrounded her with signs of attention. The lovers spent a lot of time together, and Josepha was forced to be present. She really didn’t like this, and the sisters began to quarrel.
Rosie had sex with her boyfriend only once, but that was enough. In 1910, she began to have cutting pains in her stomach and the sisters were hospitalized with suspected appendicitis. But doctors quickly found out that the girl was expecting a child. The information quickly left the hospital and caused a real storm in the press.
A real scandal broke out. The attention of society was focused on the fact that Josepha was nearby during the conception! The reputation of the artists was dealt a powerful blow. But the sisters had other things to do - they were preparing to become mothers. On April 16, 1910, Rosie and Josepha had a son. They named him Franz, in honor of his father, that same officer. Both sisters had breast milk, so they could feed the boy in turns.
The child's father did not abandon his beloved. He steadfastly endured the scandal and led Rosie and Joseph down the aisle. True, before that, he was frayed by formalities and even fined for polygamy for some reason. The trio lived quite happily and raised a son. A few years later, Joseph met her love. Unfortunately, her wedding did not take place - shortly before the wedding, her fiancé died of peritonitis.
When the sisters were 45, Josepha became seriously ill. The doctors' opinions were divided - some suspected food poisoning, others the flu, and others jaundice. The woman was getting worse and worse, so the doctors decided to take a risk. They suggested that the Siamese twins be separated. That way, Rosie had at least a small chance of surviving. But she categorically refused to part with her sister.
On March 30, 1922, Josepha died, and a few minutes later Rosie died too. After the death, the question of inheritance arose. The women did not leave a will and it was unclear who would be the heir. It would be logical to give everything to the only son, Franz. But in the documents, Josepha and Rosie were two different people, and this complicated everything. In addition, the younger brother of the deceased sisters showed up, also laying claim to the property and money of the famous artists.
Whether Franz was the sisters' child was revealed after an autopsy on April 2, 1922. Doctors found that the women had different wombs, meaning Franz was only Rosie's son. This caused a heated debate in the press, but it soon became clear that the sisters' common property was valued at only 400 modern dollars. Interest in the inheritance and heirs immediately disappeared, and the sisters were forgotten.
The story of the Blažek sisters is not only a rare medical case, but also an example of incredible fortitude. Do you think they could have lived a different life if they had been born in our time, when medicine has made great strides? Share your opinion in the comments!