Anias McDonald is a 13th month old toddler who went through a craniopagus neurosurgery separation.

^[4]The operation was done by one of the world's leading Neurosurgeon for craniopagus surgery, [[LINK|lang_en|dr-james-goodrich|Dr.

James Goodrich]].

Anais is the contemplative of the two, being an attentive listener whenever his mother, Nicole McDonald, speaks.

Yet, he is the silent warrior as he has been struggling more than his brother, Jadon McDonald.

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Nicole has said that she and her husband, Christian, had a tough choice to make as there are risks to the operation.

They look forward to seeing their twins separated, and getting to know them equally.

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On Thursday morning, October 13th, the boys went through the operation.

This rare case of conjoined siblings are called craniopagus twins, a rare marvel, occurring in one out of every 2.5 million births.

About 40% of the twins are stillborn, and another third die within 24 hours of their birth.

Studies have showed that 80% of twins joined at the head die of medical complications by the age of 2 if not separated.

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The McDonald boys, who share 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter of brain tissue.

Although meaningful statistics are hard to gather with something so rare, it is safe to say the separation procedure carries major risks, including the possibility of death or long-term brain damage for one or both boys.

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Goodrich states: "They go back to a 1-month-old...

They have to learn to sit.

They have to learn to roll.

They have to learn to walk.

They basically go through a yearlong period of a second infancy."

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