Conjoined Twins Hit Major Milestone

Donnie and Ronnie Galyon have now outlived Bunker twins
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 6, 2014 11:31 AM CDT
Conjoined Twins Hit Major Milestone
Jim Galyon, top, shares a kiss with his brothers Ronnie, right, and Donnie inside their Beavercreek, Ohio, home Saturday, June 28, 2014.   (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Cory Morse)

Donnie and Ronnie Galyon turned 62 years, eight months, and seven days old yesterday, and whereas most of us might celebrate that little milestone with a shrug and a nap, it means something much more to the twin brothers. The Galyons, conjoined twins who are joined from the breastbone to the pelvis, are now longer-lived than Chang and Eng Bunker—the world's first known conjoined twins, reports the Dayton Daily News. "It’s what me and Donnie’s always dreamed about, and we hope to get the ring, because we’ve dreamed about getting this since we were kids," says Ronnie. "Put it this way, I'm stoked."

"I had promised 'You get there, we're going to have a really big bash,'" younger brother Jim Galyon told ABC News. "We've had a lot of friends and family coming in from five different states and local neighbors." Donnie and Ronnie live with Jim and his wife inside a specially constructed addition to their home that lets them provide 24/7 care for the twins. But the Galyons aren't done yet: They have to hit their next birthday, October 28, to become the oldest conjoined twins to ever grace the planet. According to Guinness, Italian twins Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci currently hold that record. (Click for more on a pair of extremely rare conjoined twins who shared a skull.)

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