The mother of a set of conjoined twins who were attached at the head says they have been separated following a procedure at a New York City hospital.
Nicole McDonald wrote in a Friday morning Facebook post that her 13-month old sons, Jadon and Anias, were separated following 16 hours of surgery at Montefiore Medical Center. She later posted a picture of Jadon alone in a hospital bed. She said Anias was still undergoing surgery.
"They had to reopen Anias' incision. He's still in surgery," McDonald wrote. "No idea how much longer it will be. My heart aches for him all alone down there without his brother. Such a scary time to be alone."
McDonald describes the atmosphere as "one of celebration mixed with uncertainty." She says Jadon did better than Anias during the procedure, adding that doctors predict he may not be able to move part of his body at first.
"When they told me they were wheeling Jadon up first, it took me a second to comprehend," she wrote. "I actually asked why they rearranged the room because I hadn't really internalized the idea that there would be 2 beds in here."
McDonald and her husband first found out they were having twins during a routing ultrasounds when she was 17 weeks pregnant. But hours after learning the big news, the couple was called back for a repeat ultrasound, a call she said is "every pregnant mother's nightmare."
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"It was on that day, in that dark room, that our whole life changed," McDonald wrote in a GoFundMe page for the family. "I was informed that I was pregnant with craniopagus twins, which in normal language means twins who are joined at the head. I was given the option on many occasions to abort my precious babies. I kindly declined. I had heard their heart beats...they spent their life listening to mine. It was my job as their mother to give them life and I decided that I would give everything up, if need be, to do so. Miracles happen...and there is one (really, two :)) unfolding before our very eyes."
McDonald went into labor on Sept. 9, 2015 and an emergency c-section was performed at Rush University Medical Center.
The boys were named Jadon and Anias.
While the babies started having some health problems shortly after birth, things quickly "went downhill" for the McDonald family.
"Anias started having trouble breathing," McDonald wrote. "Because of the way he was positioned in my belly, his chin was against his chest and his jaw couldn't grow. His airway was also constricted. As he required more oxygen for day to day life, his breathing got worse and worse, until eventually he was back on oxygen."
Months later, the couple met with a specialist in hopes of successfully separating the twins. Fast forward to October, the babies have undergone their final surgery, but their most difficult.
The family's GoFundMe page has raised $161,161 as of Friday, exceeding their goal of $100,000 to aid with the babies' medical care.
McDonald says she aches "with the uncertainty of the future."
