Abby and Brittany Hensel first hit headlines in 1996, after they appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In a moving TV segment, the twins spoke about what it’s like to be conjoined.

Their family also opened up about the difficulties that the siblings face – and many worried this would hold them back in life.

But decades on, the sisters have flourished.

They’ve achieved important life milestones, from going to university to passing their driving test.

This is astonishing, especially as doctors didn’t even think the conjoined twins would survive.

Abby and Brittany were born in 1990, the Mirror reports .

Their parents Patty and Mike didn’t know they were expecting twins, so were shocked when they welcomed two daughters into the world.

The couple, from Minnesota, USA, were warned that the sisters’ chances of survival were low.

And even if they did make it, doctors worried about what their quality of life would be.

The girls were born with five limbs – one of which grew between their heads.

This extra arm was removed when they were still infants, which aided their movement.

But while this procedure was a success, parents Patty and Mike didn’t want to put their daughters through separation surgery.

This op is life-threatening and can leave sufferers with severe disabilities if it’s attempted.

So instead of risking these serious complications, the parents encouraged Abby and Brittany to live their lives to the fullest.

And the 29-year-old sisters have certainly done so.

On their 16th birthday, the twins worked together to pass their driving test.

After getting their license, they told Daily Mail: "Abby does the pedals and the gear shifter.

"I take over the blinkers and the lights. But she likes driving faster than me."

But while they rely on one another to carry out day-to-day tasks, the sisters say they have their own personalities and aspirations.

In 2012, Brittany told Daily Mirror: “We are totally different people”.

Abby and Brittany’s individuality is reflected by their academic paths.

They both went to Bethel University – but studied different subjects.

After graduating, the twins began working as primary school teachers.

Abby told BBC: "Obviously right away we understand that we are going to get one salary because we're doing the job of one person.

“As maybe experience comes in we'd like to negotiate a little bit, considering we have two degrees and because we are able to give two different perspectives or teach in two different ways."

Brittany agrees that working together has its advantages.

She said: "One can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions.

"So in that sense we can do more than one person."

Paul Good, headteacher of the school the twins work at, says the twins are a great example to the children they teach.

He remarked: "I don't think there's anything that they won't try or something that they couldn't be able to do if they really wanted to.

"To bring that to children, especially kids who might be struggling, that's very special, that's learnt through lived example."

Badonasty:
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Badonasty:
Allah akbar