[ APPLAUSE ]
>>> WERE BACK, NOW, WITH OUR SERIES, "MEDICAL MYSTERIES AND
MIRACLES."
MIRACLES."
TAYLOR WAS BORN WITH AN UNUSUAL
BIRTHMARK
BIRTHMARK.
THE PIGMENT OF ONE SIDE OF HER SOME DOESNT MATCH THE OTHERHER
SOME DOESNT MATCH THE OTHER SIDE.
SIDE.
AS TAYLOR GREW OLDER, SHE DISCOVERED SOME HEALTH ISSUES.
SHE WENT IN SEARCH FOR ANSWERS.
AND WHAT SHE FOUND WILL SHOCK
YOU.
YOU.
TAYLOR HAS A LOT GOING FOR HER. SHES A SINGER/SONGWRITER AND IS
DEVOTED TO SPREADING THE WORD ON
BODY POSITIVITY.
BODY POSITIVITY.
BUT SHES EXPERIENCED MEDICAL CHALLENGES FOR HALF OF HER LIFE.
OFTEN BECOMING SICK, SHOWING
DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS, SHE SAYS, OF
AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE.
>> I PROBABLY DID NOT GET ANY
HEALTH CHALLENGES UNTIL MY PRETEENS AND MY TEENAGE YEARS.
I WOULD GO TO THE DOCTORS A LOT.
I WOULD GET THE FLU ALL THE TIME
OR SINUS INFECTIONS OR CHRONIC
SINUS INFECTIONS OR MIGRAINE
HEADACHES.
HEADACHES.
THEY COULDNT FIND ANYTHING. I WOULD GO TO A NORMAL DOCTOR,
TO A SPECIALIST.
I HAD C.A.T. SCANS, MRIs.
BUT IT WASNT ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN WHY I WAS HAVING MORE SO LIKEN
WHY I WAS HAVING MORE SO LIKE AUTOIMMUNE SYMPTOMS.
AUTOIMMUNE SYMPTOMS. >> Reporter: A MAJOR CLUE TO
TAYLORS MEDICAL MYSTERY WAS
VISIBLE FROM THE DAY SHE WAS
BORN.
BORN. >> ON MY TORSO, I HAVE A
STRAIGHT LINE THAT RUNS DOWN THE
CENTER OF MY STOMACH.
THE LEFT SIDE OF THE
PIGMENTATION OF MY STOMACH IS
DIFFERENT THAN MY RIGHT SIDE.
>> Reporter: WHILE THIS TRAIT
HAS NEVER CAUSED HER PAIN, IT
CAPTURED HER CURIOSITY EARLY ON.
>> RIGHT BEFORE TEENS, YOU KNOW,
BEFORE MY PRETEEN YEARS, I WAS A
DANCER.
DANCER.
AND THAT IS PROBABLY WHEN I
FIRST REALLY NOTICED. WAIT A MINUTE, WHY DOESNT MY
STOMACH LOOK LIKE THE OTHER
GIRLS STOMACHS?
GIRLS STOMACHS? THEN, I DID APPROACH MY MOM
ABOUT IT.
ABOUT IT.
AND MY MOM SAID, ITS JUST A BIRTHMARK, AND YOURE SPECIAL.
AND THATS WHY YOU HAVE IT.
I WAS TOLD BY ANY DOCTOR THAT
HAD SEEN ME, ITS JUST A
BIRTHMARK.
BIRTHMARK.
>> Reporter: EIGHT YEARS AGO, TAYLOR SAW SOMETHING THAT MADE
HER THINK THERE COULD BE A
POSSIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN HER
BIRTHMARK AND HER ILLNESSES.
>> I WAS WATCHING A TV SHOW.
THEY HAD SHOWN A PICTURE ON THE
TV.
TV.
AND IT LOOKED IDENTICAL TO MY STOMACH.OOKED IDENTICAL TO MY
STOMACH.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME EVER IN MY
ENTIRE LIFE THAT I SAW ANYBODY WHO HAD A STOMACH LIKE MINE.DY
WHO HAD A STOMACH LIKE MINE. >> Reporter: A WEEK LATER,
TAYLOR VISITED A SPECIALIST
BECAUSE SHE HAD A SORE THROAT.
AND I BASICALLY SAID, YOU KNOW,
YEAH, I HAVE A LOT OF HEALTH
CHALLENGES.
CHALLENGES.
BUT IM NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THEY ARE.T REALLY SURE WHAT
THEY ARE. IVE BEEN TO DOCTORS.
I HAVENT REALLY BEEN DIAGNOSED.
AND MY MOM WAS ACTUALLY WITH ME
AT THE TIME OF THE APPOINTMENT,
AND HE GOES, TELL HIM ABOUT THE
SHOW YOU SAW.
AND I GO, WELL, I DO HAVE A BIRTHMARK ON MY TORSO AND I SAW
THIS SHOW.
THIS SHOW.
AND HE SAID, DO YOU MIND IF I LOOK AT YOUR STOMACH AND I SAID
NO.
NO.
WHEN I LIFTED MY SHIRT, HE WAS
KIND OF BLOWN AWAY. >> JOINING ME NOW, TAYLOR MULL.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> I KNOW YOU SAID, YOU LOOKED
AT YOUR STOMACH.
HE ALMOST FELL OUT OF HIS CHAIR
BECAUSE HE KNEW AND IT WOULD
LATER BE CONFIRMED THAT WHAT?
>> THAT I HAD A CONDITION CALLED
KHYMARISM, WHICH IS, I AM MY OWN
TWIN.
TWIN.
>> SHE IS HER OWN TWIN.
EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS. >> USUALLY, IN THE EARLY STAGES
OF PREGNANCY, BUT IT CAN ALSO
HAPPEN IN A LITTLE LATER IN THE
PREGNANCY, AS WELL, BUT USUALLY
IN THE EARLY STAGES, FRATERNAL
TWINS.
TWINS.
WE FUSE TOGETHER IN THE WOMB.
NOW, I CARRY MY SIBLINGS
GENETIC MAKEUP THROUGHOUT MY OWN BODY.IC MAKEUP THROUGHOUT MY OWN
BODY.
>> YOU HAVE TWO SETS OF DNA? >> YES.HAVE TWO SETS OF DNA?
>> YES. IVE BEEN TOLD TWO SETS OF DNA,
TWO BLOODSTREAMS AND TWO IMMUNE
SYSTEMS.
SYSTEMS. >> AND THATS WHY YOUVE BEEN
HAVING THESE AUTOIMMUNE ISSUES?
>> YES.
>> YES. THIS IS JUST MY PARTICULAR CASE.
I CANT SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE.
BUT MY BODY IS TWEETING MY
SIBLINGS MAKEUP AS FOREIGN
MATTER AND IT WANTS TO REJECT
IT.
IT.
AND IT CANT.
IT STRIPS MY IMMUNE SYSTEM. MY IMMUNE SYSTEM IS MUCH LOWER
THAN THE AVERAGE PERSONS.
I HAD SOME IMMUNE TESTING DONE A
YEAR AGO.
YEAR AGO. AND MY ALL-AROUND IMMUNE COUNT
WAS ALMOST AS LOW AS SOMEBODY
WHO HAS CANCER.
SO, THATS WHERE THE CHALLENGE
IS REALLY COMING IN FOR ME.
>> DID YOU EVER HAVE THE FEELING
WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP?
PEOPLE ASK IF THEYRE A TWIN,
DID YOU HAVE THAT FEELING?
>> I ACTUALLY DID.
AND I TELL THIS WITH TOTAL TRUTH
AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, I
USED TO ASK MY MOM AROUND 5, 6
YEARS OLD, IF I HAD A TWIN.
AND MY MOM COULD NOT BELIEVE
WHERE I WAS COMING FROM WITH
THIS.
THIS.
SHE WAS LIKE, WHY DOES SHE KEEP ASKING ME IF SHE HAS A TWIN?EEP
ASKING ME IF SHE HAS A TWIN? AND MY MOM DID HER BIRTH
NATURAL.
NATURAL. SHE HAD TWO MIDWIFES.
SHE NEVER HAD AN ULTRASOUND.
MY MOM WOULD GO, I ONLY GAVE
BIRTH TO ONE BABY.
NO, NOT AS FAR AS I KNOW,
TAYLOR, YOURE NOT A TWIN.
I KIND OF HAD AN OBSESSION WHEN
I WAS YOUNG.
I KNOW A LOT OF GIRLS DO THAT.
THEY WANT TO DRESS LIKE THEIR GIRLFRIENDS. DRESS LIKE THEIR
GIRLFRIENDS.
EVERY GIRLFRIEND, WE HAVE TO LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE FROMVE TO
LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE FROM HEAD-TO-TOE.
HEAD-TO-TOE.
AND I KIND OF EVEN DID IT TEEN
YEARS, TOO.
FINALLY, AS AN ADULT, I GREW OUT OF IT.Y, AS AN ADULT, I GREW OUT
OF IT.
>> WHEN YOU FOUND OUT THAT YOU
DID ONCE HAVE A TWIN, WHO IS NOW
PART OF YOU, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE,
EMOTIONALLY?
>> I ALWAYS SAY, YOU KNOW,
EMOTIONALLY, IT IS SAD.
YOU KNOW, I COULD HAVE HAD A SIBLING TO GO THROUGH LIFE WITH.
AND I ACTUALLY AM AN ONLY CHILD.
MY MOM WAS UNABLE TO HAVE MORE
KIDS AFTER ME.
I GREW UP WITH A BEST FRIEND WHO
IS LITERALLY LIKE MY SISTER. SO, I GREW UP -- SHES TWO YEARS
OLDER THAN ME.
I NEVER GREW UP AS AN EARLONLY
CHILD.
CHILD.
BUT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A TWIN
AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ENTIRE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE ANDN ENTIRE
DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE AND SITUATION.
SITUATION.
IT IS SAD FOR ME EMOTIONALLY. BUT IT WAS SO FREEING AT THE.
BUT IT WAS SO FREEING AT THE SAME TIME WHEN I FOUND THIS OUT
BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE, OH, MY
GOSH.
GOSH.
THIS MAKES SENSE NOW. MY STOMACH, YOU KNOW, WHY ALL OF
THE HEALTH CHALLENGES.
>> IM NOT CRAZY BECAUSE YOURE
LED TO BELIEVE YOURE NUTS WHEN
YOU KNOW THERES SOMETHING WRONG
WITH YOU BUT THEY CANT DIAGNOSE
IT.
IT.
>> IM A TYPE-A PERSONALITY.
IM ALWAYS GOING, GOING, GOING. BUT SOMETIMES, MY BODY CANTNG.
BUT SOMETIMES, MY BODY CANT KEEP UP WITH MY BRAIN.
AND I THINK THATS THE HARDEST
PART.
PART. >> THIS TRADE HAS IMPLICATIONS
FOR TAYLORS LIFE, INCLUDING
WHEN SHE BECOMES A MOTHER.
WERE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT
AND BE JOINED BY A DOCTOR AND