Nicole and Christian McDonald gave all their worries to God the day they found out the twin boys they were expecting were joined at the head. Now, after a successful surgery to separate them, they're feeling blessed beyond imagination.
It's a happy end to a journey that started with lots of worries and lots of tears, Nicole admits on the couple's GoFundMe page, which has raised over $260,000 towards their costs.
However, she decided to "set my mind on things above" and has never looked back, despite being given the option "on many occasions" to abort the twins.
On September 9, 2015, Jadon and Anias came into the world and as a testament to their faith, Christian chose biblical names for them.
"Jadon which means God has heard. Anias which means God has answered. We gave our worries to God that day," they share.
The twins' safe arrival into the world was just the beginning of another challenging journey, as health problems started to affect the babies not long after their birth. Both needed to be on oxygen for months and Anias' breathing got so bad at one point that the McDonalds thought they were going to lose him.
But they pulled through and work began to prepare the way to separation. This included numerous surgeries to slowly reroute the blood flow between their brains, and procedures to stretch the skin so that there would be enough to cover the area of separation.
Cases of twins conjoined at the head - known as craniopagus twins - are extremely rare, occurring in only 1 in every 10 million live births. For that reason, it's a challenge to even find a surgeon experienced enough to carry out the surgery. But they were lucky enough to find neurosurgeon Dr. James Goodrich, a leading expert in craniopagus surgery, who carried out the surgery on Jadon and Anias last Thursday.
Despite the risks, the McDonalds never doubted separation was the right choice in order to give the boys the best chance at a normal life.
"When this all began, back in that dark ultrasound room, I knew we were in for a battle, but I also knew that with God anything is possible. Our faith continues to grow as we watch God work out blessing after blessing in our life," said Nicole in a GoFundMe update.
The surgery took place at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and was a major procedure, lasting over 24 hours.
The boys, now aged 13 months, survived the first critical 72 hours after the surgery and although there are some issues - Anias has experienced seizures and Jadon can't move his left side - the couple are optimistic they will both make a full recovery and go on to live healthy, normal lives.
"We've prepared for this day since the day we found out we were blessed with these angels last May. In all honesty, this is almost like a dream...it's not real," the couple write in an update to their GoFundMe page following the surgery. "But by the grace of God we have been blessed with a real sense of peace. And by the grace of all you the burdens of the future seem to be lifting from shoulders, with generous gift after generous gift."
And it's the simple things most parents take for granted that Christian and Nicole are looking forward to - the first time the boys will sleep in their own beds and picking them up separately.
Not only are they thankful for their babies, they're also thankful for all the supporters from around the world, many of them strangers, who have donated to the crowdfunding page and sent them messages of support over these last 13 months.
"If it wasn't for all these people sending us messages and donating, we wouldn't have been able to keep such a positive outlook," Christian told CNN.
And of course, the couple are in no doubt that a big part in getting them this far has been God.
In a moving Facebook post after the surgery, Nicole wrote: "I saved the biggest hero for last...last but most assuredly not least...and that's God. I say this with caution because I know that there are many people out there who don't believe in God. I used to be one of you. This is where I would stop reading and move on with my day. But if I don't acknowledge Him who has carried us on every step of this journey I would be doing a huge disservice to myself, and to you."
She continued: "God has guided every single step of this process, bringing together the perfect group of people to make a miracle happen.
"Without God we would have unraveled many many months ago. People say we have handled this situation with grace...but it's with God's grace that we continue on. By allowing Him to take control, by giving our anxieties to Him, we have been able to carry the 'burden' and count it a blessing."
