tomorrow? and so the night before the operation, all christian and nicole can do is what they have done every night since the twins were born. a bottle, a cuddle, and a little prayer before bed. i love you. god loves you more. will those prayers be answered? everything is going to be okay. we are going directly inside the operating room when we come back. dearthere s no other way to say this. it s over. i ve found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced. our senses awake. our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say.if you love something set it free. see you around, giulia
i was shocked. we was calling everybody. we were kind of bragging at that point. we re having twins. then just an hour later, amidst the celebration, comes a call of concern and urgency. the radiologist wants to redo the ultrasound herself, personally, now. but christian has gone back to work. without her husband by her side, nicole returns to the hospital and sees for herself what was so alarming. she said, you know, i don t really know how to say this except for to just say it. that your twins are conjoined at the head. all i could say was, okay, and try and breathe and not cry. i ran through the waiting room and just sobbed in the car till i couldn t breathe.
in. dr. deborah sell up is director of the fetal center at rush university medical center in chicago, illinois. they were going to do whatever it took to guarantee the best outcomes for their children. whatever it takes, months of never constant monitoring. we anticipated delivering nicole, best case scenario, at 36 weeks. but the boys have other ideas. september 9th, 2015. 32 weeks along, nicole s water breaks. christian is away on a work trip. he ll have to meet her at the hospit hospital, where, coincidentally, dozens of doctors, nurses, and technicians are together, rehearsing the delivery for the first time that very morning. it was a miracle to them that everyone was there. they were pretty blown away by it. because everybody s here. it s a textbook delivery.
oh, my goodness. one month post-separation hi, buddy. a month of firsts for jazdon and anias mcdonald. the last time we were in this room, they were conjoined. first time in separate beds. first time being held. and first time actually seeing each other. are you sticking your tongue out at me? yeah, it s a new trick. he wants you to do it. are you going to smile? each day is new, like today, november 15th. it s the first time nicole and christian will see jadon s head without bandages. oh, it s amazing. it s the most amazing thing. i just can t even believe it. and look at his little hair on top. it s growing in.
still the most critical. jadon had extremely high fevers, incredibly uncomfortable, lots of pain. he wasn t using his left side at all. we knew that post-operatively, both children would have some type of weakness. we did not know how severe, and of course we don t know how long it will last. almost immediately anias starts having seizures. one lasts 45 minutes. doctors manage the seizures with medication, and nicole well, she manages them like only a mom can, lying beside anias, reading him books, singing him songs. and each time she does, his heart rate slows. his blood pressure lowers, and he calms down. meanwhile, four days after the operation, jadon wakes up.