People are said to be joined at the hip when they have a close bond. The same can be said for two lovely sisters, Isabelle and Abby Carlsen, who were born in 2006. These twins, on the other hand, shared a lot more than their parents. They were born conjoined from the chest to the stomach. Their parents wished their daughters could be separated, but doctors warned them that such a procedure was extremely dangerous.

Regardless, doctors in Minnesota decided to carry out the complicated procedure and separate the two sisters. Fortunately, it was a huge success, and Isabelle and Abby made international headlines. Isabelle’s heart was tangled up inside Abby’s chest, and the organs in their abdominal cavity were mixed together. The doctors were well aware that the quality of these girls’ lives was in their hands, and they did everything they could to ensure that they had a bright future.

They had been preparing for the marathon surgery for months. There were cardiac teams, liver teams, plastic surgery teams, and so on. The sisters live in North Dakota and have no recollection of being conjoined because the separation surgery was performed when they were only six months old. Today, they do share an infectious zest for life, but that’s where the similarities end. Isabelle and Abby are polar opposites in terms of personality. They don’t share interests or dress in the same way.

“Every night in our room, we look in the mirror and wonder, ‘How do people get us mixed up?'” Abby states. These two are unquestionably distinct individuals. They were once thought to be miracle babies, but now they are all grown up and lead completely normal lives. To learn more about their incredible story, watch the video below.