Gemina Giraffe

This is a bit of a late post but I thought it was necessary. Some of you may know the sad news that Gemina the giraffe at the Santa Barbara zoo died at the age of 21. She was born at the San Diego Wild Animal park in 1986 and was brought to the Santa Barbara zoo when she was about a year old. What makes Gemina special is the near 90-degree kink in her neck.

The kink in her neck never seemed to impede her life. X-rays never showed what caused her neck to grow this way, but it never seemed to matter. It only made her a famous giraffe...at least to nearly everyone in Ventura County and Santa Barbara. She shall be missed as a "landmark" of the Santa Barbara zoo.
NOW, here is why I cared about Gemina Giraffe. Some of you may know that I have scoliosis and when I was 13 years old I started having to wear a back brace for 23 hours a day, everyday. It was really uncomfortable and it disfigured my body in clothing which was embarassing as a 13 year old. I wore it for 2 years straight and when my treatment was done I couldn't ever have been happier. My brother affectionately called me Barbie (bc the brace looked plastic like barbie) and Turtle (bc it was my turtle shell). I remember going to the zoo and seeing Gemina...and I always liked her because she had a crooked spine too! Also, I was born in 1986 and so was she...so she's my buddy. Plus...who doesn't like giraffes?