72 |8 AUGUST^2019 http://www.drum.co.za

NeevandNellyKolesteinaresharingtheir

storyonlinetochangethewaypeopleview

disabilities.Thetwinswithsiblings(LEFT)

Marione,TimothyandRosianne.

STRONGER

TOGETHER

Joined at the head, twins

Neev and Nelly are sharing

their remarkable story

online – showing their

condition won’t stop

them from living life

to the fullest

T

HE twins can’t stop gig-
gling as their big sister
does their makeup for
their first YouTube video.
“We’re going to start
with the base,” explains
Nelly Kolestein as she tilts
her head back to allow
Rosianne to work her magic.
She squirms when the eyeliner is

applied. “I’m scared you’re going poke
that thing in my eye,” she says, swatting
away the pencil.

“Relax!” her sister yells impatiently.
Nelly and her twin sister, Neev, are gid-
dy with excitement about setting up
their YouTube channel and sharing their

experiences with the world.

Today, Neev explains, they’re going to

a photoshoot to promote their channel

• which, like the girls’ Instagram and
  Facebook pages, will show the twins liv-
  ing their best lives: enjoying themselves
  at music festivals, going to soccer match-
  es, hanging out at the mall and posing
  and smiling for the camera.
  It’s stuff every 18-year-old enjoys – but
  Nelly and Neev are no regular teens. Pho-
  tographs and mirrors are the only way
  the sisters can see each other’s faces and
  there’s no such thing as individual selfies
  for these two. They were born connected
  at the back of their heads and a shared
  artery means separation is impossible.
  But Nelly and Neev don’t dwell on their
  limitations. The girls have an infectious
  love for life and are determined to
  change the way people view disability.
  “When we were newborns, everyone
  thought we were going to die,” Nelly says.
  “But we’re here now. We’re 18 years old
  and we’re standing firm on our four feet.”
  Craniopagus twins, the official term
  given to twins attached at the head, are
  the rarest form of conjoined twins.

“Our bodies are separate, but we’re

joined by the head,” Neev says. “Everyone

thinks we can read each other’s minds.

But we can’t. We have our own thoughts.

It means we can both do our own thing,

with you know, walking and talking.”

Craniopagus twins occur once in every

2,5 million births – about 50 a year – and

of those a mere 15 survive beyond the

first month of life.

Doctors didn’t expect Nelly and Neev

to survive their birth – and even if they

did, they told their parents, they were

unlikely to survive to their 10th birthday.

Neev and Nelly beat the odds – not

only surviving but thriving too.

T

HE twins’ parents, who have

shunned the limelight and

don’t want to be identified,

had no idea their babies were

conjoined until their birth.

They were born in Suri-

name, a small country on the north-east-

ern coast of South America which was

once a Dutch colony. The family moved

to Amsterdam in the Netherlands soon

after the girls were born so they could

get specialised medical care and to see if

doctors could separate them.

“It wasn’t great living in Suriname,”