Doctor Separated Twins "Ahead of Schedule"
CAMEROTA: So I'm sure I'm sure you remembered those conjoined twins we told you about. We have an update for you. The boys are recovering ahead of schedule after undergoing the grueling 27 hour surgery last month. And Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta checks in with the family.</s>SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When Nicole McDonald got to hold her son Jadon for the first time, it was as if she saw him for the first time.</s>NICOLE MCDONALD, MOTHER OF JADON AND ANIAS: As a mother you know when you hold your child, you know every bit of their face. Well, his face also encompassed Anias'. So it's my first moment of relearning his face.</s>GUPTA: Jadon and Anias are literally one in 2.5 million. They were born craniopagus twins conjoined at the head sharing between 1 1/2 to 2 inches of brain tissue, after over a year of planning last month the boys were separated after a 27 hour long operation at children's hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx. McDonald's have allowed CNN to follow their journey from surgery through rehab exclusively. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Hi, buddy. Hi. The last time we were in this room they were on a, you know, they were on a ...</s>N. MCDONALD: They were in one bed.</s>GUPTA: They were conjoined. Everything -- he's pretty happy with the outcome.</s>N. MCDONALD: I think so.</s>GUPTA: Are you sticking your tongue out at me?</s>N. MCDONALD: Yeah, that's a new trick.</s>GUPTA: You're sticking you tongue out at me. For the McDonald's this entire month has been full of first times. First time in separate beds, first time being held, first time seeing each other, but it hasn't been easy to get here. The boys have battled infections, fevers, and seizures. It's been particularly trying for Anias.</s>N. MCDONALD: Serious infections close to the brain. Skin involvement. They had to take, you know, the bone out of Anias. They had to take skin out, you know, that's just been -- for Anias, it's just -- there's never a break.</s>GUPTA: Despite all of that, the boys' doctors are so pleased with their progress. Dr. James Goodrich is the boys' neurosurgeon. You said he was right on or ahead of schedule even. Is there a -- I mean because it's so rare, is there a schedule?</s>JAMES GOODRICH, NEUROSURGEON, THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT MONTEFIORE: Well, it's just when you only deal with trauma cases, people with injuries, recovery times are in months, sometimes years so we're a month. If you consider this is one month out, this to me is incredibly fast.</s>N. MCDONALD: Yup, Yup.</s>GUPTA: Do you feel like you have permission or do you allow yourself rather now to think about the future with regard to Jadon and Anias?</s>N. MCDONALD: I think about their future all the time, all the time. I think about the first time they go to a park and I think about, you know, them getting married some day. I think about -- I think -- I've thought through their whole future 100 times over.</s>CHRISTIAN MACDONALD, FATHER OF JADON AND ANIAS: It's not that I'm not optimistic. I just -- I'm just more curious what the future holds for them, but I guess I don't want to get my hopes up. You know, I guess I just take it one day at a time.</s>GUPTA: But each day continues to bring more blessings. The day I visited Nicole and Christian got to see Jadon without his head dressings.</s>C. MCDONALD: I've never seen you like that buddy.</s>GUPTA: For the first time. What's there like, mom to see the first -- the first time without the dressings.</s>N. MCDONALD: It's amazing. This is the most amazing thing. I just can't even believe it. And look at his little hair on top, it's growing in. Hi, baby. So when I look at them and I see them laying in their beds whole and generally healthy and I think mentally with it and moving forward, I don't just see that miracle, the separation miracle, but it's been the miracles that took place every step of the way. I know like my, yes.</s>C MCDONALD: Anybody could take it off. How does it feel to be your own little boy?</s>N. MCDONALD: You have a head of hair.</s>GUPTA: Well, Alisyn and Chris, I can't get enough of those images. I mean I still get goosebumps a little bit looking at them. I will tell you that what you are seeing here is very rare. As you might imagine, I mean I'm a neurosurgeon. I've never seen anything like this. One in 2.5 Million pregnancies result in babies who are conjoined at the head. Very few make it all the way to delivery and to birth. Even fewer have access to the sort of resources you just saw. So a lot of things came together, but the doctors said, again, that this was one of the most challenging operations he's ever done. And he's the world leader in this but also one of the most rapid recoveries he's ever seen. The next step for Jadon and Anias is to go to rehabilitation. They have never sat up, they have never crawled, they have never walked. They're going to learn all of that stuff again. This is like a second birthday for them. But again it's just incredible. Really brings a smile to my face. Back to you guys.</s>CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. It melts my heart to see his little head -- I mean his little hand touching his head for the first time without the dressing and feeling around up there.</s>CUOMO: There are so many layers of connection that wined up getting here, especially if you're a parent, you know, when we heard this is the first time these kids have ever seen each other, the first time ...</s>CAMEROTA: Isn't that incredible? I mean I just want to stop there for a second. They've always been aware of each other, they were connected, they could hear each other but they've never seen each other.</s>CUOMO: And another thing for me is Sanjay is such a unique blessing in this business. You know, he is a neurosurgeon. He gives you insight and access in the stories. You would never get -- I could never cover that, the way Sanjay just did and we're all better for it, what an amazing story, especially so close to Thanksgiving.</s>CAMEROTA: I'm sure that when ...