Mum Holds One of Conjoined Twin Boys For the First Time Since Successful Operation

The mother of the conjoined twin boys who were successfully separated in a 27-hour surgery last week was over the moon after she was able to hold one of her sons for the first time.

Mum, Nicole McDonald has shared on Facebook how she felt when she was able to rock her 13-month-old son Jadon – something she could not do when her sons were conjoined at the head. She wrote:

“For over 13 months, I’ve dreamed of this moment.

“I looked down at Jadon’s angelic face and saw him in a way I’d never seen him before. He whimpered for almost the whole two hours I held him because he had just been extubated, had the area under his scalp washed out and had been weaned from the good pain meds.

“But instead of wrapping my body around him in his bed, I wrapped my arms around him and rocked. One of the most profound moments of my life.”

In a photo of the touching moment, Mrs McDonald can be seen beaming down at her son as she sits in a chair in a hospital room at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

The moment happened not long after doctors removed Jadon’s breathing tube.

However, Mrs McDonald has not yet been able to hold her other son, Anias, because he has been slower to recover from the surgery and still has his breathing tube in.

Doctors told her and her husband, Christian, that this might happen because Anias suffered breathing issues, seizures and heart problems even before the surgery. The doctors added that after the procedure, Anias still had seizures but they have put him on medication that has stopped those attacks since Wednesday.

The conjoined twin boys have opened their eyes for the first time exactly a week ago.

Conjoined 13-month-old twin boys, Jadon and Anias McDonald, who were separated last week, are still recovering in their hospital beds in the Bronx’s Montefiore Hospital days after their surgery.

Last week, both of them opened their eyes for the first time on CNN.

Jadon was relatively stable throughout the surgery, and was able to recover fast. Meanwhile, Anias also opened his eyes, though only a bit. The twin’s parents said they are optimistic about Anias’ recovery as well. Anias struggled throughout the surgery as his heart rate plummeted with every cut.

The boys shared a lot more blood vessels than their surgeon had anticipated.

Last week, Nicole also shared a photo of the twins together when they were first reunited on Friday afternoon. In an emotional Facebook post, Nicole wrote:

“Finally reunited. How surreal.

“I now realize that I always saw you as separate because seeing you like this is really nothing different to me.

“When I stand at your bedside, Jadon, it’s almost as if Anias is still there. Anias, when I leaned over you I protected my hair from Jadon. But the view is still the same.

“This is how I always saw you. I love you so much. Now it’s time to step forward into the new chapter of our life. I’m ready to fight and I know you are too.”

She then thanked the doctors and hospital staff who helped them.

The twins, who were born a month early on September 9, 2015, underwent a risky surgical procedure on Thursday at the Montefiore Medical Center’s Children Hospital.

Dr. James Goodrich led the twins’ procedure and claimed that it was the longest craniopagus surgery since 1952. The procedure to separate the boys lasted over 16 hours, with another 11 hours taken to reconstruct their skulls with tissue expanders to make them two separate individuals.

“There was a point where Dr Goodrich debated stopping the whole procedure because it was just too risky but an opening presented itself and they went for it and it ended up being the right call,” Nicole said.

Anias and Jadon’s recovery is set to take months.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk, Dailymail.co.uk, Au.news.yahoo.com, and Kidspot.com.au