Idea of Body Snatching

I do not understand the reason or concept behind body snatching. I find it very weird and distrubing in many ways. But I could not help but to compare the idea of body snatching to the obession that we as individuals have with celebrities. People will spend their life saving trying to look like someone else. Parents are giving their 16 years old children nose jobs instead of cars for their birthdays. For what? To imtimate or look like someone else? We are different and unique for many reasons, and we should learn to appreciate and want what we have instead of desiring something that someone else has. We should focus more on ourselves, only then can we realize the true beauty and greatness within us and outside of us. I do realize that people steal and take others bodies/faces for many different reasons. But I believe the utlimate reason is that they are not happy with themselves.

My thoughts on Conjoined Twins

I was watching a special on TV last night and it was describing how in certain parts of the world conjoined twins are considered to be a god and are worship. And in other parts they are seen as demonic and are cast out. I find it interesting how we as individuals and as a society interpret certain things and most of all each other...........During our class discussion we talked about why and how being conjoined is and can be so problemtic............. My only concern was how can conjoined twins really excerise and have privacy, especially when it comes to things like having sex. I couldn't help but to think why God allows certain things to like this to occur? Especially, if it is supposely wrong, demonic and/or abnormal. And is the concept of conjoined twins is freaky and wrong in general or to society? Ever after our class discussion on this topic, I still have not hear or have come up with a fair and/or valid answer. And I am not sure why.

#twinproblems

In response to shawna's post about creating your own identity as a twin:

I agree that we should be accepting to anyone who is viewed as deviant including conjoined twins. They shouldn't feel the need to form their own identity just to have that "American dream."

As a fraternal twin, I consider myself lucky. Since I was born I have had a best friend by my side to go everywhere with. But along with that we were viewed as basically the same person. We knew that we were two separate people but to everyone else I feel as if we were one. I enjoyed being so similar but i think this caused us to instinctively find others things to be a part of. In elementary school we were placed in the same classroom, but they moved me to a different classroom because we would only talk to each other and none of the other students. As young kids we were on the same baseball and basketball teams. Once we hit high school I decided to run track and cross country to associate myself apart from him. I wanted to be independant and grow on my own away from him. Its really frustrating because I love him so much, to share those similarities, but at the same time I worked to be myself.

My point is, I don't think that society forces twins to become their own person. I believe its a personal choice that they go through at a certain point in life.

Brian Gallagher 

Joshua and Jacob Spates- Recent Conjoined Twins

I thought that for my second blog post I would talk more about the recent set of conjoined twins I mentioned in class on Thursday. Their names are Joshua and Jacob Spates, born in the United States. They were born via C-section January 24, 2011 and separated at 7 months this August. They were pygopagus conjoined twins like Dao and Duan from the article we read for class.  The picture on the right is an image of Joshua and Jacob while still in the womb. 

Jacob was born with a congenital heart condition and high blood pressure in the lungs so it was vital for the twins to be separated to have heart surgery.  If they were not separated Joshua and Jacob would most likely pass away within 2 years. After 13 hours of surgery with over 100 surgeons involved. We discussed in class the idea of doctors making "normal people out of monsters" when they take on these surgeries. I think that in this case at least that idea doesn't apply. Jacob needed heart surgery which couldn't be done while attached to his twin. If they hadn't been separated they would have died. In separating them the doctors did make them "normal" as society would define it but mostly they gave them a chance to live. The picture on the right is of the twins prior to surgery with their mother Adrienne Spates. Below are some links to the articles I read and videos about the twins. I suggest reading them because they have more information on the twins and others like them that I didn't talk about in class or in this post. The last link is a website I found that goes through famous conjoined twins. I thought it was interesting to see other conjoined twins than the ones we have already discussed and finding out more information on the ones we have, like Daisy and Violet Hilton from the movie Freaks. The first page gives a lot of information on how conjoined twins are formed and the different types. To see all the twins go to the bottom of the screen and hit next. Enjoy and sorry for such a long post to read!

USA Today Article click here

USA Today Photo Gallery click here

Huffington Post Article and Video click here

Website on Other Conjoined Twins click here

Conjoined twins: One person or two?

When reading Wu’s article on the conjoined twins I was immediately interested in the relationship these people had with one another. In class we discussed whether conjoined twins were 1 “entity” or thing, or if they were 2 separate people. From an outside perspective it I guess depends on each individual person, I feel like it could easily be a confusion between the 2 where depending on the situation and moment the 2 choices might blur. Moreover then the outside view however I wonder how conjoined twins themselves viewed their relationship to one another. We talked about how after 3 years old it could be socially traumatizing for the two to be separated; I think in some sense this could conceivably be viewed as the conjoined twins being one being. However on the other hand it could easily be seen where on a regular basis you have 2 very different people with different likes and dislikes. In the end there is no definitive definition but if I had to choose I would most definitely consider them 2 different people.

John Plevel

Cadavers in todays society

Interested in how cadavers are used today and who are the people who donate their bodies to institutions/ programs for study I read an article on msnbc and did some other research to delve into it. While it’s obviously nothing like what we read in the articles about what happened over a century ago with body snatching being almost a regular thing. The article explains how do to a shortage of bodies some universities don’t require the donor to be the person themselves but it can be the family who donates it. In the current economy this has sparked an upswing in donations because families have found donating is much more cost efficient than a funeral. This turns something many view as pure and even heroic into something almost criminal if done for the wrong reasons.

            In the end the use of cadavers is necessary but should only be done to the bodies of people who truly know what is going to happen to them. It shouldn’t be something that you just check a box off on an application. 

John Plevel

Response to Angela'a post on Xinxin and Qiaoqiao

Angela, I'm really glad you posted this story, especially the part at the end where you explained how the doctors had no choice but to put strain on the twins' organs in order to provide them with necessary nutrition. All semester in class, we've been bashing doctors and medical professionals left and right for some of the decisions that they've made. I don't think that most of us have taken the time to think about what it might be like to be in their shoes and have to make some of the difficult decisions they have to make every single day. When faced with a crisis such as conjoined twins who are fighting for their life, or the opportunity to perform an unethical experiment in order to save thousands of lives, what would we do? To us, it always seems so black and white, moral or immoral. But for these doctors, it's often anything but. I'm not saying that every decision every single one of these doctors has made has been right or in their patients' best interest. But sometimes, they're faced with awful situations and all of their options suck. Being a doctor is one of the most difficult professions in the world, especially when no matter what you decide to do, it's not going to make the patient 100% better. We should stop to think about some of these situations from the doctors' perspectives and realize that sometimes, they're really trying to do the best that they can.

Sarah Bradley

Body Snatching

While reading the articles and book on body snatching, I was really creeped out. I can't believe that people were hired to dig bodies out of the group for medical research. Doctors were put on a pedestal and were not punished for their actions. They could steal bodies and use them for operations and never get caught or punished. There were no laws about it for the longest time. Why did it take the government so long to make a law for this and realize that it was wrong? They were more concerned about people stealing the cadaver's jewelry than their bodies, which I think is a way more serious crime. The articles suggested that it was just a part of the time and it was necessary, like Sims. I was shocked with the story about the man that went missing and somehow ended up in the lab as a cadaver, with no effort to contact his family and tell them what had happened. This is an example of how hush hush this area is. No one wants to talk about how the bodies for research get there, just as long as they are. After reading this, I was a little scared to think about what else goes on without anyone knowing.

Abby and Brittany Hensel

Before Thursday I had already seen the documentary on the conjoined Hensel twins. I always found it very interesting that they tried to live separate lives, but did everything together. I was very impressed with their teamwork and how easy they made everyday tasks look, that seem hard while conjoined. I do not think that separation ever crossed their minds. I think that if I grew up combined with another person, it would be very hard to adapt to living life on your own. The fact that they live such normal lives shows that people who are conjoined twins are not monsters in any way. The articles brought up the idea that people do not know how to react to them. Do they treat them as one person or as two separate people? The Clark essay says that conjoined twins are pressured to be normal, the Hensel twins are normal and are trying to show people that they are not different than any other teenagers. They said that the reason for doing the TLC interview was to stop people from staring and taking pictures of them. This topic was very eye opening and made me look at them in a different way.

“Guess you’re the brains behind this operation!”

I saw a commercial which I felt illustrated some of our class discussions very well. The commercial features a neurosurgeon poking and prodding into a patient’s head causing the patient to surf on a laptop for good travel deals. A black nurse intervenes, “This is completely unethical!” But the doctor replies, “My hours are unethical!” and continues to explain hat he doesn't have time to do this himself while the patient (victim) performs spastic movements. Then the nurse suggests, “Just use Kayak, to compare hundreds of travel sites at once!” The doctor's response is, “Guess you’re the brains behind this operation!” Then proceeds to manipulate the patient to point his fingers at her in a mocking fashion and then high-five the doctor.

This commercial I feel reflects how doctors are in control of patients and their bodies. They are able to make incisions, perform operations/experiments, and ultimately manipulate the patient’s body for their (purported) benefit. Furthermore, the fact that the nurse was black may also have some hidden undertones of medical history, for she is the one suggesting that the procedure is unethical only for the doctor to respond that his hours are unethical. Does this attempt to demonstrate the illegitimacy of the performance of black medical experiments as unethical? Does it attempt to demonstrate that a white male doctor’s opinion is the valid one? Also, for him to mock her may also reflect the discrimination of a women within the medical world, for a nurse could never have the prestige and knowledge that a doctor would have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flov7Q6pQNk

Angela Barney

Blog for 2/23

Medical Apartheid – page 110 “Then as now, glory followed the ability to be the first to identify and treat a condition or disorder. Publication was important to a physician’s career in 1800s and 1900s as it is today.” Page 112 “The results of exploiting the “clinical material” was a damping of the sensitivity ….The dehumanizing effects of their training might easily have deformed their altruism.”

It seems the advances in medicine have not really changed things.  The doctors today display many of the traits spoken in the above quotes from our text book.  How sad that medicine has not learned anything overtime regarding the humane treatment of patients
Joyce Abbott

Xinxin and Qiaoqiao

I was interested in finding out if attitudes and treatments of conjoined twins vary from Western culture to Eastern culture. I was considering whether perhaps Eastern cultures would be less likely to medically intervene due to their focus on collectivism, differing religious beliefs, and economical means.

I then came upon a story of Xinxin and Qiaoqiao in Chongqing, China. The news story shared very similar language and observational notes that were used back when physicians observed Chang and Eng.

Doctors and several hospitals were quick to offer help, often free of charge, as the case began to receive significant media attention. The first thing the hospital “needed” to do was examine the twins, which would determine whether they could be separated.

“We had to take great risks to do the examinations,” says Meng, the babies' doctor. “Even a small mistake could lead to disastrous results.”

It was discovered that the twins were not dicephalus, which refers to a baby that has two heads but only one set of organs. The story even provides the reader with the exact weight of the twins’ heart, the number of organs they had, and even an X-ray image of the twins (in order to satisfy our senses). It was eventually concluded the twins could not be separated. However, the doctors also concluded that certain birth defects might lead to pulmonary hypertension, causing blood clots in the lungs and infections that lessened blood flow and oxygen supply to the hearts. Doctors had to resort to ventilators and antibiotics. They decided to use an invasive ventilator on Xinxin. But it was discovered that Xinxin's inflated lungs had a deleterious effect on Qiaoqiao.

On Oct 3, the twins died of massive heart failure. "The congenital cardiac and pulmonary malformation was the direct cause of death," Meng concludes. However, it was noted that the nutrients and medicine supplied by the doctors increased the burden on their kidneys and livers, but Meng shares, “But we had no choice.”

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-11/09/content_14061285.htm

Angela Barney

Crimes in Anatomy

One thing that bothered me while reading the article by Mary Roach on those who dug up bodies used for dissection in medical school was "how is this legal?" I would never have thought that stealing a candy bar would receive more of a punishment than taking one of your loved ones from the grave. Roach states "dissection was thought of, literally, as a punishment worse than death." If it was considered to be worse than death why wasn't it treated so with the law? It is unusual to consider an upstanding members of society to partake in such a disreputable affair.

One of the main discussion questions asked in class was whether you have accepted the fact that many dissected bodies have come about through an unethical manner and is it necessary despite the technology we have today. The truth is I dont agree but I can't think of another way to gain that experience. Is it fair that those most likely donated are those from the bottom of a hierarchical rank? -not really, that is how history has played out.

When I needed to perform CPR on a person who was at my beach, as a lifeguard it was my responsibility to do something. Better me than someone random in the crowd who would have no experience in it.

Brian Gallagher

Children born with multiple limbs and other unusual births

When someone in class today asked about cases of more than two babies being born conjoined, it made me think of a little girl I had once seen a story about online. I did a little bit of research and found that her name is Lakshmi Tatma from India. She was born with four arms and four legs: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1246431/Lakshmi-Tatma-The-little-girl-limbs-worshipped-deity-starts-school.html. 
Lakshmi was born with Polymelia, a condition in which a human or animal is born with one or more extra limbs. In Lakshmi's case, this resulted from her and her twin not completely separating in the womb. Her twin was parasitic, forming without a head and fused onto Lakshmi's body. This little girl was considered an incarnation of the Hindu goddess of fertility and wealth, but the surgery to remove her extra limbs was performed as it was crucial to her health. She's now four years old and leading a fairly normal life, but there are withstanding complications, such as scoliosis, which will continue to affect her health for the rest of her life. The interesting thing about this story, though, is that the doctor that performed the surgery was not American and did it voluntarily for free. The doctor lives about 2,000 miles south of Lakshmi and heard about her story, which compelled her to help the little girl. This led to more people offering to help the girl's family with a place to live and education for Lakshmi and her brother. I think it's important to realize that although this little girl has been "fixed," she still faces many challenges in the future, and those who were able to help her weren't American doctors who wanted to westernize her story. Finally, there is another website I came across with a list of other unusual births if anyone is interested:  http://www.smashinglists.com/10-weird-babies-medical-conditions/

Sarah Bradley

"Make Me Normal"

I was thinking about what Angela and Jeff discussed in class today. Our society stresses separation, so it would seem like that is the only option conjoined twins have. This makes society more comfortable, so we don't have to "look" at the conjoined bodies. This made me reflect on my own life, and think about the surgeries I have had on my legs.

I was born with Cerebral Palsy, which is a birth injury caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. I was 3 1/2 months premature. Doctor's told my parents they could operate, and I might be able to walk (I crawled until I was 4). I've had muscle releases, femur (hip) rotation on my left side, and a tibia and fibula (ankle area) on my right. For the most part, my parents made the decision for me to have these operations, I chose to have the last one when I was 15.

I can identify with the conjoined twins, in that these surgeries were attempts to give me a more normal life. If they had not been done, then I would probably not be walking, or be in a wheelchair. I may not walk "normally," but it's as close as I can get to whatever normal is supposed to be, and consider myself lucky to go to college, drive a car, and live in an apartment on my own.

- Josh Steffen

"Stuck on You"

This week's readings also reminded me of the movie "Stuck on You" that Shawna mentioned in her conjoined twins post, and I agree with what she said. To add to that, I like the song "Human" that plays at the ending credits, and it is sung by Cher. I decided to post the lyrics to the song below. Do you see any connections between our readings and these words?

I don't see right, and I don't see wrong
In anything I've done
In where I've gone.
And I'm only human
Yes I've made mistakes
I wish that I could foresee
What I'm doing wrong, and catch some breaks.

Through a doorway I'm callin'
Down a long road I'm walkin'
Like an eagle soarin' up so high.

You can see it in my hands
You can see it in my face
I'm chasing passion down
A one way street.
But I'm in command
Of lost control
And I'll tell you one thing's certain,
That I'll never fake it for anyone.

(Repeat Chorus)

Run
To a place you'll never hide,
To a place you hold so tight
And you'll try, and you'll try, and you'll try.

I don't see right, and I don't see wrong,
And I'm only human,
Yeah
I've made mistakes

- Josh Steffen

Conjoined Twin Identity

I watched the video on Brittany and Abby and it got me thinking about one of the topics we addressed in class today. How should/do conjoined twined identify themselves? It seemed as though in the video when people where talking about the twins they referred to them as one individual. They said things like, "They are not a morning person". However, it is clear that these girls have their own identity, their hairstyles are different, even their mannerisms are different. So how should conjoined twins identify themselves? If they try to be their own individual, does that just perpetuate the "American Dream" that everyone should be a single identity? I would disagree. I think that even though these girls are very different, they would not be who they are without the other one. I think it is important for our society to just be accepting of conjoined twins, or anything that is "deviant". If we are accepting, it gives the conjoined twins the freedom to be whoever they want. They can make the decision to separate themselves if they choose, and if they decide against it, at least they know society would not judge them.

Conjoined Twins

I think that there is so much to be learned from studying all twins, but not just conjoined twins. I also would like to think that the doctors who perform surgeries to separate the twins are in it for the "well being" of the twins, not just an attempt for fame and glory. Reading the Clark and Myser article, it did worry me that the doctors were more concerned about making a name for themselves. When the article mentioned that the possible psychological problems these girls might have was only thought about after the operation, that very much worried me. The safety and overall well being of those girls should have been the only priority those doctors were thinking about. Safety not only includes physical health but also mental health. I would hope that if I was ever put into the position where I had conjoined twins, I would ask questions and do research as well, not just solely rely on the first surgeon that comes along. Of course I cannot speak for others, and I am not trying too. I just know, that I would care so much to the point where I would read everything I could get my hands on about conjoined twins and do my part in insuring that the twins would have the most opportunities, advantages and potential given to them and their health.

Erin Pattridge

Lynching "Souvenirs" and Dissection Photography

Below is the link to the website I mentioned in class (titled Without Sanctuary) that archives lynching "souvenirs" in the form of postcards and photographs. In Medical Apartheid Washington suggests that there are comparisons to be made between photographs taken of dissection and lynching "souvenirs." Does this site (in particular the video you can view on it) help us to better understand this connection? You may consider writing one of your posts for this week on this topic.

http://withoutsanctuary.org/

Abby and Brittany Hensel

Hi everyone,

Here is the link to the video I mentioned in class on the Hensel twins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkKWApOAG2g

As you will see, the comments on the video are extremely offensive. The comments seem to highlight why it is the twins are reluctant to be in the public eye, as well as the fact that conjoined twins are still viewed as non-normative in our society as they defy our understanding of the "normal" body and cause discomfort for those of us who are singular (not conjoined).

Conjoined twins

Today we read two articles of two conjoined twins one dealing with how they were seperated and the other about their life while still being conjoined. Both of these articles deal with today's world because we still have conjoined twins and are still doing surgery in order to make them "normal." One thing that has changed today is the reason to why we seperate them. In the past we seperated them because we thought that they contained one soul and they wanted to make it so that they both had a soul. Now the reason that we seperate twins is because it is more of a safety issue for when the twins are growing so it doesnt cause difficulties. One question that was posed in was are we seperating them because society wants to make them normal or to help them feel normal? I feel like we seperate these people because of society not because we want them to feel normal. The one thing that I didnt like was that in the Being Humaned there was a quote that they were taking these conjoined twins and making normal human beings out of monster" I feel like that is a terrible thing to say because they are human beings they were just deformed at birth. Another question whether or not these doctors were actually concerned about the twins or were only concerned about the science part of it. I think that during the time these twins were being seperated the doctors were more concerned about the science because in the article it says how they televised it and it had nothing to do with twins it had to do with the surgery. Now however I would like to think that doctors are more ethical and actually want to help others over helping themselves.

Doctors as Ring Masters

As I was reading the chapter Being Humaned: Medical Documentaries of the Hyperrealization of Conjoined Twins by Clark and Myser it completely changed my outlook on conjoined twins. I realized that I have been looking at the subject not through the patient’s eyes but through the doctors. The articles said that we as a society are “making spectacles out of spectacles”. The only person who is really befitting from the separations is the doctors. They are seem as heroes or god-like because they can make the impossible possible. They are “humanizing” the children; they are making humans out of monsters. These “monsters” have names, faces, feelings and they are ALIVE. I believe this is even more horrible than dissecting dead bodies or even women’s bodies because at least they had a voice and could express themselves. The children they are taking apart are too young to have a opinion let alone express it. Put yourself in their tiny shoes, how would you feel being brought from another country, where no one speaks your language (or even tries), being poked and prodded for several months, eating different food, sleeping differently, and your only true friend in the world is attached to you until some old scary man puts you to sleep, cuts you up and then your only friend is not attached to you anymore but laying in a bed beside you with tubes and wires. Yet, you just have to lay there and wonder why I hurt so much? …. What happened?... But you can ask many question to be able to make sense of your new world because no one speaks your language…. Confusing right?

 Shame on the doctors who believe that they are heroes and can fix anything and make people “Normal”. 

-Sarah Fiorella 

National Lampoon's Vacation

When reading the chapters in Washington and the chapter by Roach I was appalled and a little intrigued. I couldn’t believe that people would look at the dead as so disposable. If I was cutting apart a person I would be thinking about the family they had and the family that would come to the grave sites to morns over an empty casket. The doctors seemed to be much desensitized to the death of others. In one of the readings it said about doctors playing with the dead, arranging them or placing them in each other’s bed to for a joke. In another passage it talked about students and doctors that were studying would take things from the dead body to show off to others. I believe that playing, joking and stealing bodies is horrible I wonder if it still goes on today. While reading these readings I couldn’t help but think of the movie National Lampoon's Vacation. In NLV death is made fun of and not respected like it should be. It is also seen in video games today. How many people have played Black Ops or Grand Theft Auto; where the main objective of the game is to kill and mane people? 

Looking through today’s historical lenses we see the doctors as desensitized and horrible people, but maybe because death was so much more a fact of life back in the 1800’s and even the early 1900’s they were just dealing with death the only way they knew how.  In one of the reading there was mention of Post- Mortem photography. Now some of our society would think that it was creepy and disrespectful but during the 17 century it was big business. Funeral parlors would let the family take pictures of the dead to remember them by and for most families this is the only picture they have of them.

Yes I still believe that the doctors in the readings especial Sims were kind of serial killerish, Frankenstein, Silence of the Lamb-ask.  Maybe to be the only way they could cope back then was to be totally and utterly desensitized. 

-Sarah Fiorella