Ernie Defort was born with a parasitic twin attached to his sternum and exhibited as a sideshow performer in his early life. He was billed as the Two Boys with One Head or Len and Ernie (Len being his half brother).
Medical condition
Ernie’s brother consisted of a headless rudimentary body with two arms and legs as well as two livers and a set of kidneys. It consisted of two extra arms, an extra abdomen, an extra pelvis, two extra legs, an extra liver. Ernie used to have an extra pair of kidneys, but they were removed when he was two years old.
Life
Len and Ernie were born in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada on July 7, 1931. At two, they were exhibited for a while at the Conklin shows (Canada's traveling carnival chain). In 1942 Ernie’s health began to be an issue due to the continued growth of his brother. He was taken to the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where a Dr. Henry Meyerding amputated the parasitic twin in October of 1943. Dr. Meyerding observed that Ernie was an ‘unusually strong and intelligent boy’ stating that his intelligence at 12 was more on par with a 19 year old. Furthermore, the Dr. claimed that Ernie would be ready to return to school ‘in four to six weeks’. Ernie physically survived the more than two hour operation and reportedly suffered depression and some psychological problems after the loss of the parasitic twin he regarded as a brother. However he eventually came to terms with his loss and had a normal life, got married and have children.