At nine o'clock the family doctor came in asking after the woman; the surgeon turned to him and said: "Go into the next room, and look."

Ten days passed after the birth, and then the medical institution in Indiana issued findings describing the child: he has two heads; the shoulders are normal, but not exactly facing one another; the point of junction begins under the armpit and ends at the base of the trunk, where the body unites and appears as one.

X-ray examination showed two short spinal columns, two hearts, and two stomachs whose intestines join toward the outlet; the lungs likewise are normal, and the brain and the eyesight are normal as well. The nerves of the right leg connect to the right head, and the nerves of the left leg extend to the left head; and the color of the right side appears different from that of the left side.

The husband was not allowed to see his wife until evening, when he brought her some of the photographs that had been taken of the two babies; and the twins were moved from the hospital in a car, accompanied by the necessary emergency equipment. It was a shock to the mother, and she very nearly disowned the child her own womb had carried. The ancients believed that a child born like this was a curse upon its parents, and these beliefs were not refuted until the year 1651, when one of the scientists made clear that this abnormality begins from the moment the embryo is formed. Some believe that the shock of seeing a snake or a frightening animal affects the pregnant woman — but Mrs. Hartley does not believe that.

No sooner had the twins reached the hospital in Indianapolis than the newspapermen and photog-

raphers surrounded the hospital, and they were told that the child was in critical condition. When the parents wanted to register the twins under a single identity, the mother asked that the names "Donny" and "Danny" be written down. The family was obliged to move to the city to safeguard the child's life, and thereby received material help that raised their standard of living. Letters began to arrive for the parents, some containing words of consolation or lamentation or religious passages, and some enclosing money orders. And when the twins were baptized, the church counted them as two. I asked the head of the institution where the twins spent the first month of their life whether those in charge had thought it necessary for psychia-trists to counsel the parents; she said no, because their reaction was entirely natural, and they asked to take the babies home.

The fire was burning and warm-ing the corners of the house when the parents arrived with their twins, and their brothers and sis-ters stood watching for a glimpse of the new baby. One girl said:

"Isn't he beautiful?" And another added: "But why does he have two heads?" There was a silence, after which the father said: "God sent him to us that way." The mother moved me deeply with her tender-ness and her acceptance of this reality with an open heart; she also followed the doctor's instruc-tions in feeding them. The father was proud of his child, and he told me that if the doctor allowed him, he would put the family in a wagon with the twins and tour the cities exhibiting them, for he would like to educate his children and raise their standard of living.

Adjusting the lives of these two parents to the new situation was not easy; even so, they have gone forward in full contentment and acceptance. I noticed it in the mother as she washed the twins, casting glances of understanding at her husband and guiding her other children without harshness or violence. And when I took my leave of her, a ray of tenderness and mutual understanding went with me and filled my heart with hope!

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