History teacher reveals the story of his secret twin

Two years ago, history teacher Jim Chin learned that his fraternal twin brother, Jack, had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Extremely worried for his brother, Jim thought of being a bone marrow donor for him. As it turned out, Jack was not an exact match, and Jim was not able to donate.

“I felt really bad when it turned out that I wasn’t a bone marrow match,” the teacher said. “If I had [been a match], the chances of it working are really high and the chances he rejects it is pretty low.”

When he first found out about his brother’s diagnosis, Jim said he was afraid for his brother’s future. Since ALL usually affects teenagers, the survival rate for a patient who is diagnosed as an adult goes down significantly.

Jim wasn’t the only one who was worried, however. Jack was also paralyzed with shock, fear and pain.

“I remember lying in the hospital bed and looking at Jim for the first time and [asking whether I had cancer] and he said ‘Yes … yes you do,’” Jack said.

The brothers’ relationship has withstood enormous struggles, and through it all, the two have maintained the close bond they have shared for years. 

Jim tried to do all he could for his brother. Because the two are twins, it was likely that he would be a bone marrow and blood match for Jack. The family hoped that Jim would be able to provide the key to Jack’s survival. However, this was not the case.

However, Jim was there for Jack as much as possible.

“He would also get me stuff that I asked for, fruit gushers, [or] Wetzel's pretzels from the mall,” Jack said. “He was great, [and] did it without hesitation anytime he could.”

Additionally, Jim and his family worked hard to find a bone marrow match for Jack by organizing bone marrow drives. They finally succeeded in finding a match, and Jack received a transplant on April 24, 2012. Currently, he is recovering from the surgery.

Though Jack is still in recovery, the two brothers spend as much time as possible together.

“We both tend to be pretty mature professionally, but when we hang out, we tend to noticeably regress in maturity level,” said Jim.

Since childhood, the two have been extremely close. According to Jack, they “almost never fought, and got along great.” 

However, although they are twins, the brothers were separated in school from a young age. Jack was held back in first grade, creating a split between them.

“A joke my brother came up with was, ‘First grade was the best two years of his life,’” Jim recalls.

The differences did not stop there. Jack and Jim had different interests throughout high school. 

“We had some overlapping [interests], but we still had separate lives, which, for the two of us, was pretty healthy,” Jim said.

Jack, who had been interested in joining the military since third grade, decided to apply for West Point Military Academy in New York, while Jim stayed in California to attend UC Berkeley. 

Although Jack did not get in during his senior year, he applied again during his freshman year at UCLA, and was accepted. However, due to a back injury, he was not able to perform physically at the academy, and discontinued his education to attend UCLA once again.

Although he had to leave the academy, Jack strongly believes that West Point helped him grow as an individual.

“I needed to stumble, fall, and fail, in order to learn how to succeed; because men are not born, they are made,” Jack said.

At the moment, Jim is continuing his career as a teacher, Jack has started recording his jokes to see if he wants to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.

“Once [Jack] found out that he had a match and was possibly going to survive, some of the humor crept back in,” Jim said.

Jim continues to help his brother with recovery since they live together. Their friendship has only grown stronger.

“Total bros. I have the best brother anyone could ask for,” Jack said.