Conjoined twin girls, born in Vietnam 29 years ago and adopted by a Swedish couple, are now looking for their birth mother. The babies were left in a basket outside a hospital in Hanoi. They were warmly wrapped in a blanket with their toys.
Twins named Rose and Happiness by the hospital staff
Prostheses room
In 1997, photographer Richard Blair and his partner, Kathleen Goodwin, were sent to Vietnam by a travel company to take photographs. In a Hanoi coffee shop, they met a group of American doctors who remarked on Richard’s resemblance to Jerry Garcia. When they learned we were in Vietnam for photography, they suggested we go with them to the National Children's Hospital (Bệnh viện Nhi Trung ương) where people who lost limbs during the Vietnam war were being fitted for protheses. We went to the hospital which was partially funded by Sweden. While we were photographing the prostheses room, the doctor leading the tour said there were two conjoined girl babies in the baby ward. He took us to see the delightful three month old babies who had been named Rose and Happiness. They were joined by their bellies. Fortunately they did not share any organs. They were happy babies, dearly loved by the staff who had been looking after them since they were three days old. We photographed the twins, who clearly loved each other, holding hands and playfully kicking their legs. The doctor told us that a Swedish couple planned to adopt them. Later they were separated by a Vietnamese doctor whom the twins believe to be Professor Thu. We returned to California a week later. We thought a Swedish newspaper might be interested in the story. We sent a photograph to a daily newspapers in Sweden, the Expressen who ran the photo. Later reporters tried to follow up the twins story but the couple who had adopted the twins wanted no media exposure and went silent.
Photograph by Richard Blair published in the Expressen
Annie and Tove Ljunggren aged 29 years old.
We thought that was the end of it but recently Richard received an email from their father asking if he was the photographer of the newspaper picture since he had the credit. He said he was and we talked to their Swedish parents and the twins themselves. The girls, renamed Annie Hanh Ljunggren and Tove Hong Ljunggren, grew up in Norrköping, Sweden with their parents, Susanne and Anders Ljunggren. Now 29 years old and living in Oslo, Annie works as a security guard at the Oslo airport and Tove works in finance. They do not live together but say they are still very close. If one of them has a problem, the other one knows it. They are keen to find out anything about their birth. We want to assist them by publicizing their story widely with the hope that someone will know something about their birth and birth parents. Frequently the internet shows hate and divisiveness; it was hoped it would bring connections and joy. This story does that. But it is not just a story about lovely twins; it’s also a story about the effects of chemical weapons. As a side note: During the war, Vietnam was sprayed with 15 million gallons of Agent Orange, a herbicide used to kill plants which hid Vietcong solders. It also killed food crops to weaken the enemy. The mixture, contaminated with dioxin, caused birth defects, cancer, and brain illnesses.
-Kathleen Goodwin 3.11.2026
Photos of babies and protheses room by Richard Blair