The saying, “Born together, best friends forever,” aptly describes St. Luke’s physicians Hussam Tayel and Hesham Tayel.

The fraternal twins have been together since they were born in Kuwait in 1987, living in the same room, apartment or house in college, medical school, residency and even as young doctors today.

The Tayels have been with St. Luke’s University Health Network since 2017 when they started their three-year medical residencies.

After completing his, Dr. Hesham Tayel joined St. Luke’s Monroe Campus as a hospitalist, a physician who provides care in the hospital.

Dr. Hussam Tayel completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at St. Luke’s following his residency and is now a gastroenterologist with St. Luke’s Gastroenterology, seeing patients in the Bartonsville and East Stroudsburg offices.

Monroe County is a long way from where they began. The twins’ Egyptian parents moved to Kuwait to provide their children with a better standard of living.

In 1990, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and the family fled, relocating to central New Jersey.

“Technically, we were refugees,” Hussam said. “As we grew older, we appreciated everything our parents gave us — their sacrifice to come to this country. They gave up their friends, family, culture, language, financial stability. It’s something we can never repay, and we are eternally grateful. We wouldn’t be in the position we are in now without their sacrifice.”

The twins, their parents and older brother, Ahmed, lived in a 1,000-square-foot apartment. Hesham and Hussam shared the same bed until they were nearly teens. While money was tight, their bond was even tighter.

“Growing up as a twin, we did everything together, and so we were best friends,” Hussam said. “It was a lot of fun, but we were also pretty competitive, and it pushed us academically.”

Hesham agreed: “We always got along so well together. And we always wanted the best for each other.”

They earned outstanding grades and SAT scores, with Hussam receiving a perfect score in the math section. They received full scholarships to the University of Maryland. Next, they attended Xavier University in Aruba and studied for two years on the island and then two years in hospitals in Baltimore.

“It never crossed our mind not to go to college and med school together because we were going to unfamiliar places,” Hesham said. “When you go to another state or country, you never know what battles or struggles you’ll go through. We studied together, tested one another and just hung out together.”

“When you are a twin, you are never lonely,” Hussam added.

When deciding where to complete their residencies, they interviewed representatives of several health systems.

“When we interviewed at St. Luke’s, we could tell that the residents enjoyed working here. “They had smiles on their faces,” Hussam said. “When we walked down the hall, people said hi to us. And we knew St. Luke’s was growing. It was evident how bright its future was.

“We knew St. Luke’s had a lot of hospitals and fellowships, which would leave the doors open for an opportunity to specialize. I specialized in gastroenterology, so it worked out for me.”

Hesham added, “We knew if we were in a positive environment, we could maximize our potential because we were going to work hard, and St. Luke’s definitely was the best environment we saw.”

So, both ranked St. Luke’s highly as a residency they wanted, and St. Luke’s ranked them high as potential residents.

They matched.