The world’s oldest conjoined twins
plan to celebrate surpassing the life span of the original “Siamese
Twins” on Saturday with a public celebration in Ohio.
Donnie and Ronnie Galyon turn 62
years, 8 months and 8 days old, thereby outliving Chang and Eng
Bunker, conjoined twins who lived from 1881 to 1874.
The Bunkers were born in Siam, now
Thailand.
A party for the Galyons is planned
in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
The Galyons are joined at the
sternum and share organs, which became an issue four years ago
when
Ronnie was sick with a virus that
affected Donnie’s health as well.
The twins live with their younger
brother Jim Galyon and his wife Mary.
Jim Galyon said his older brothers
toured with their father, and at times seven other siblings, as
a
“human oddity” until the shows fell
out of fashion in the 1970s.
The later traveled in Mexico and
Latin America.
“They were on the road from (age) 4
to 40," Jim Galyon said. "They did their time."
They aim to break the Guinness Book
of World Records as the longest-lived conjoined twins when they
turn 63 in October, their brother said.
According to the Guinness website,
the longest-living twins, Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci of
Italy, were born in 1877 and died at 63, he said.
“It has been lifelong goal to reach
this age,” Jim Galyon said.
