Twins with cerebral palsy prepare to separate after 1 gets accepted to Stanford

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Lizbeth and Elizabeth Gomez share a bond few siblings do: the 17-year-old fraternal twins were born just two minutes apart and both with cerebral palsy.

"We are really close. She gets really excited when I get home and we're always together," Lizbeth said.

Lizbeth was diagnosed with a more mild case of cerebral palsy. She took speech classes and dealt with some physical limitations. But Elizabeth has been in a wheelchair since a young age and needs a little more help understanding her classes.

"(Lizbeth) means a lot to me because she helps me overall in high school and all of my school years," Elizabeth said.

As the Century High School seniors prepare to graduate, Lizbeth began applying to colleges across the country. She set her eyes on Stanford, thinking it was a long shot.

Then she received an email congratulating her on her acceptance. Her major, inspired by her sister and others with cerebral palsy, will be bioengineering.

"I've always wanted to be able to help her and so I thought what better way than to major in bioengineering, where I can create a medical device or something that can help her out," Lizbeth said.

Lizbeth credits the Nicholas Academic Center for her success. The center helps underserved high school students through mentorship and tutoring. It encouraged Lizbeth to write about her and her sister's obstacles in her application.

"At the end of the day, they sort of united forces and figured out how they work with each other's strengths to get through school," said Rosa Diaz with the center.

This fall, the Gomez twins face their biggest challenge yet - being apart from each other.

"I told her, 'Can you take a picture of me when you go to Stanford so you can look at it at night?" Elizabeth said.