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Conjoined Galyon twins finally enjoying quiet times

Contributed photo Conjoined twins Don (left) and Ron Galyon with their mother and their niece

Archive photo/Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, world's oldest conjoined twins, with sister, Theresa and brother, Chuck, in an Oct. 25, 1952 Journal Herald photo by Bob Doty.

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By Laura Dempsey, Staff Writer Updated 11:37 AM Monday, May 11, 2009

DAYTON — Donnie may be older, but Ronnie is taller. Donnie’s a spender, Ronnie’s a miser.

Two men, one life, lived face to face for every minute of their 57 years.

The world’s oldest conjoined twins have identities as distinct as any two siblings — one serious (Donnie), one happy-go lucky (Ronnie), disagreeing about some things and correcting each other’s stories.

What Ronnie leaves off, Donnie often begins with, “What he meant to say is . . .”

They agree on what’s important, though, including sports — most notably football and their team, the Dallas Cowboys, a loyalty that chagrins their little brother Jim, who loves the Cincinnati Bengals.

And neither likes the term “conjoined twins.”

“We want to be called Siamese twins,” Donnie said. “The name came from the twins in Siam (Chang and Eng in the early 1800s), and that’s what we are: Siamese twins.”

It’s easy to say that Ronnie and Donnie Galyon have defied the odds.

Conjoined twins are thought to be born once in every 50,000 to 200,000 births; half of those are stillborn, and the survival rate for those born alive is somewhere around 25 percent.

“Make sure you get a Guinness Book of World Records this year — we’re in it again,” said Donnie.

After a life on the road, first with the carnival and then with the circus, the Galyons are living out their days in a small home in Dayton, days of television-watching punctuated by occasional breakfasts at the Golden Nugget and dinners at Spaghetti Warehouse.

Age is taking its toll.

Arthritic and sore, the twins have trouble getting around like they used to, and even a trip outside to water their tomato plants is something of an ordeal.

They used to walk places; today they can’t go far without resting, and their custom wheelchair has seen better days.

Earlier this year, a seven-week stay in the hospital frightened their extended family — four brothers, three sisters, a stepmother and half-sister, numerous nieces and nephews — though the twins have recovered well.

“I’m going to see to it that they’re independent for as long as possible,” said Jim, 46.

“Some people might think they should be institutionalized — but I wouldn’t want to live in an institution, would you?”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2403 or ldempsey@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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