Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Power of Twins

nodday
I believe there are things in the world we don’t quite understand.  To some extent, I believe in spirits and psychics and energies that have no explanation.  (Although I also believe many cases are pure flim-flam.)  My mom is not much of a believer in these things, but there is one we both agree on.  And that is the power of twins.  The “other-worldly” connection twins have that defy any reasonable explanation.

DadUncleJ

You see, my father is a twin.  Uncle J, my godfather, is my Dad’s twin brother.  My mom tells me that long ago, when I was very little or perhaps before I was born, my dad caught a terrible flu and came home from work early for the first time since she had known him.  That afternoon, my uncle called to see how my dad was feeling.  Mom asked who told him my dad was sick.  Uncle J said nobody told him, he just had a feeling and knew he should call to check on his brother.  ** cue Twilight Zone music **

The instance that really convinced me of the power of twins happened a few years back.  You see, Uncle J had been diagnosed with cancer and had a tough surgery coming up.  A few weeks before the surgery, Dad came down with what seemed to be a terrible cold.  He got worse and worse and worse, until he finally went to his doctor.  She immediately called an ambulance and rushed him to the hospital.

Tests confirmed there was some kind of virus that had attacked the fluid around his heart.  The problem was, the doctors couldn’t figure out what the virus was.  They ran test after test and tried treatment after treatment - just like an episode of House.  We didn't find out until later just how serious things were and just how dire the situation was.

A week went by, with Dad in the hospital getting worse and no answers to be found.  The day came for Uncle J to have his surgery.  It took hours longer than the doctors had expected, but in the end it was a success.

As soon as Uncle J was out of surgery and starting to recover, my dad started to recover too.  The doctors couldn’t figure out what caused the sudden improvement.  They continued to test and test until the insurance companies balked at keeping Dad in the hospital since he no longer needed to be there.  In the end, the doctors had to admit they would never know what virus had attacked his heart.  They also admitted they would never know which medication had healed him.

A few weeks later, Dad suddenly got sick again.  This time, he went straight to the ER and was admitted.  They believe it was a reaction to one of the medications he was being weaned off of.  That evening, we found out Uncle J had also been admitted back into the hospital that day.  It seems a sponge was left in his body during his operation and they had to do emergency surgery to remove it.  Two days later, Dad and Uncle J were both better and were both released from the hospital on the same day.

I know doubters will laugh at me and say that this story is just a bunch of coincidences.  But I disagree with my whole heart.  I know for sure, with every fiber of my being, that what happened is an example of the connection twins have that we just don’t understand.

** Today’s post was written for No D Day.  You can find other No D Day posts on the No D Day Blogroll.

17 comments:

  1. YEP...I believe too. That is by far too many coincidences to be a coincidence on the deep bond they share. Great story and good to get to know another part of you. Love the photos btw.

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  2. I believe it. There are waaaayyy too many stories like this from other sets of twins. I figure you can't spend 9 months in the same stomach and not have a REALLY strong connection. :)

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  3. Oh my gosh! There must be some connections that have nothing to do with illness though, right?

    It's very heartwarming. I like your pictures - you look so beautiful and happy.

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  4. You will hear me often say, "there are no such things as coincidences."

    I totally believe this stuff. Great No D-Day post too!!

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  5. For sure, I so agree with you...my mom is a twin and the one story that I think is so cute is they live on different street but they both have the same address...cute!

    One day my mother and a few friends went to a psychic expo...just for a few giggles my mom does not believe in such things. As the psychic started to read my mother she was asking her all these questions and none of which applied to my mom. My mom was getting frustrated and so was the psychic then all of a sudden she got this smile on her face and said are you a twin? Yes my mom answered and they went through every question and it ALL applied and was exactly my aunt. She was reading my aunt off my mom. She told my mom she was unable to read twins because they share the same something or other.

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  6. Oh I so totally believe this. I cannot believe that two humans who shared being conceived together and growing together in the womb won't have anything else but an irreplaceable bond. What a great story (with a great ending!)

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  7. Oh yeah, I totally believe this! Amazing stories, thanks!

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  8. Such a nice post and nice photos! And that story is a crazy good one! I don't think any of us are laughing :) These stories make me all giddy because I've got twins and while I don't have those amazing type of stories (yet?) I can say that my two which are 15 months old...have an amazing bond. Ever since they were born Henri would stop crying when his sister Aurora cried, instead he would look at her and reach over and touch her arm. Aurora has to always know where her brother is and if he is upset she sits on him and pats his head lol (funny way of showing she cares) They talk to each other in gibberish every morning from across their cribs and they clap for each other when they've accomplished something like stacking blocks. They may be each others only sibling so I hope they stay bonded later on in life. Your story gives me hope that they will. Thanks for posting.

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  9. Whoa.
    Love. It.

    Can't wait to see how the twins interact in their twin world as they get older. :-)

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  10. Man, that is so freaky. What an amazing story! Sounds like something you see on one of those late-night TLC shows or the Discovery Health channel. And yes, I believe your story.

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  11. Wow, that's incredible! What a great story!

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  12. Fantastic post Karen!
    I absolutely believe in the power of twins - I've seen it with my friends who are twins/have twins!

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  13. I totally believe you!! My dad is a twin too! I get it.

    Oh man - now I wish I had a twin!! :)

    I'm assuming that is you and your dad in the pics? Beautiful!!

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  14. Of course I loved this post Karen!! My mother always says she'll never understand the bond that my sister + I have. She says when we're together it's like no one else in the room exists :) And I see it with Joe + his brother too.
    I watched this documentary once called "in the womb" and it followed the progression of identical twins in the womb together. They reported that the bond between the two fetuses starts extremely early, especially in girls.
    Thank you for sharing this ... I hope they are both still doing well.

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  15. That's just freaky!

    I'm not sure what I believe about anything that falls into the not-easily-explained category. I guess I don't want that stuff to be true because it weirds me out, but my heart knows that there isn't necessarily a rational explanation for everything.

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  16. WHOA!!!!! Cool twin stuff ROCKS :)

    My younger brother has 10 year old twins and they have several interesting stories too :)

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