There's one moment the parents of twin boys who were once attached at the head can't wait for after their sons' historic separation surgery -- to see them in a bed side by side.
Christian McDonald, the father of the boys, told CNN he's "so excited and anxious to see that moment."
McDonald's 13-month-old sons, Jadon and Anias, were separated following 16 hours of surgery at New York's Montefiore Medical Center last week. The twins survived the critical 72 hours following the surgery and are now in stable condition.
According to the report, Anias suffered a seizures over the weekend, but those have since been brought under control. Meanwhile, Jadon still has not moved his left side, something doctors predicted could happen following the surgery but say isn't concerning yet.
Christian McDonald has yet to hold either of his sons post-surgery, saying they are too fragile, but reportedly said Jadon will "squeeze your fingers and not let go, on his right side."
Nicole McDonald, the mother of the Illinois twins, has reluctantly documented her family's experience as her sons faced their most difficult surgery yet. But if supporters of her family read anything she hopes, it's her message to them and the doctors who saved her children.
In a lengthy and emotional Facebook update on Saturday, the mother shared that as she and her husband "emerged from the depths of the hospital" last week, they were forced to face the fact that their family's private battle has quickly become a national story.
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"For those of you who don't know us, it might be interesting to note that we do not have TV or Internet access at home," she wrote. "We don't get to watch the news on a regular basis and we have literally spent the last 36 hours at the boys' bedside or waiting for updates from the doctors in the Caregiver Support Center at Montefiore."
McDonald noted that at first, she didn't want to take her family's unique situation public, but agreed because they wanted to help show the medical miracle that would soon separate her sons.
"Our biggest desire was to show how brilliant the team at Montefiore has been and to give the hospital the credit it deserves," she wrote. "The real heroes of this story are the people who have put countless hours, days and months into the success of today."
McDonald had been sharing updates on the surgery as the boys returned to their room one by one.
Hours later, McDonald wrote that the brothers had been "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," McDonald wrote. "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."
McDonald and her husband first found out they were having twins during a routine ultrasound 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."
"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.
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 had raised $161,161 as of Friday, exceeding their goal of $100,000 to aid with the babies' medical care.
McDonald thanked those who helped her family during the trying time, saying "each and every one of you is a hero in your own way."
Most recently, McDonald said the boys are stable, but "there are some things happening that I can't really find the words to explain or allow myself to dwell on."
"Every thing changes from hour to hour and we just have to remember that the brain responds in crazy ways when it's been cut through," she wrote. "We still cannot hold the boys because they are intubated so we sit at their bedside and hold their hands, give them massages and kiss their faces. When I have a better understanding of their actual status, I will do my best to update. Thank you so much for your heartfelt support."