The moment came one week after the 27-hour surgery to separate Jadon and his brother Anias.
Mom holds separated twin for first time
By Wayne Drash, CNN
In what can best be described as a bundle of cuteness, Nicole McDonald held her son Jadon alone for the first time in what she calls “one of the most profound moments of my life.”
Mom grinned from ear to ear as she cradled the young boy Friday afternoon at a New York hospital, mesmerized by the gaze of his deep brown eyes. The precious moment came shortly after doctors removed Jadon’s breathing tube, and it came one week after the 27-hour surgery to separate Jadon and his brother Anias, 13-month-old twins who were born conjoined at the head.
Nicole clutched Jadon for two hours, cherishing every lasting second. She had told CNN before the surgery that holding her two boys was the thing she longed for most. “There’s nothing harder than watching your child cry and not being able to pick them up,” she had said. “To hear them cry and react to it in a motherly way is something I’m really excited for.”
Nicole took to Facebook on Sunday morning, describing to friends and family what it was like to finally hold Jadon.
“For over 13 months, I’ve dreamed of this moment,” she wrote. “I looked down at Jadon’s angelic face and saw him in a way I’d never seen him before. He whimpered for almost the whole two hours I held him because he had just been extubated, had the area under his scalp washed out and had been weaned from the good pain meds.
“But instead of wrapping my body around him in his bed, I wrapped my arms around him and rocked. One of the most profound moments of my life.”
Nicole’s husband, Christian McDonald, was away from the hospital when Nicole first held Jadon, and he rushed back to join. However, once he got there, the father decided Jadon was too upset and fragile to be held again, with so many wires hooked up to his tiny body.
“I was just happy Nicole got to hold him. She’s been longing to hold him since the day the twins were born,” Christian said. “That’s a very special moment for a mother to share.”
The McDonalds have yet to share that same moment with Anias, who is progressing slower than Jadon, but still doing well. Anias had suffered breathing issues, seizures and heart problems prior to the surgery, and doctors expected his recovery to take more time. Anias has suffered seizures since the surgery, but they have been held in check with medicine since Wednesday, officials said.
Both boys underwent a touch-up procedure to clean out incisions on their heads on Wednesday. Jadon and Anias were described as doing well after that procedure.
Dr. James Goodrich, considered the world’s leading neurosurgeon for what’s known as craniopagus surgery, led the operaton at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. It marked the 59th craniopagus surgery in the world since 1952.
Jadon and Anias have captured the hearts of millions across the world, ever since CNN broke the story about the twins’ surgery. The hashtag #JadonAndAnias emerged as a trend on social media as people shared their ordeal and clamored for more updates.
The parents continue to be overwhelmed and grateful for the support they’ve received around the globe. Since the surgery started, their GoFundMe page has swelled from some $50,000 to more than $280,000. The family has asked that anyone wanting to help the twins instead make a donation to a friend whose child is in need of a kidney transplant.
PokemonGO was introduced on Wednesday, July 6, and since has taken over cities across the world with players of all age running around searching for virtual cartoon characters.
The map above was created by a PokemonGO user, and shared on Reddit. Check it out!
Southport Art Festival
Date: Saturday, July 16 – Sunday, July 17
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Lakeview
Traffic Alert: Southport at Waveland will be closed to traffic.
The festival will showcase the work of more than 75 of the city’s most diverse artists who work in a variety of mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, jewelry, sculpture, photography, glass and mixed media. Attendees can look forward to seeing Chicago-based standout artists, edgy photographers and abstract painters. In addition to supporting the arts and viewing incredible artwork that is available for purchase, festival guests also will have the opportunity, through live art demonstrations and booth chats to speak one-on-one with the artists.
Restaurants in the Southport Corridor area will be open for business, serving up summer favorites.
Info from the BenFest website: This year’s BenFest has something for every age! Come join us for three days of family fun including great bands, cuisine from local restaurants, activities for the kids and a chance to win some great prizes. This year’s Grand Prize Drawing is a cash prize for $10,000.
Get started supporting BenFest 2016 now! Become a sponsor, volunteer or purchase your entry and activity wristbands ahead of time through advanced purchasing (new this year). Click here to get started!
St. Benedict Parish BenFest is conveniently located on the northside of Chicago in the North Center neighborhood and can be reached via CTA buses (Irving Park or Western Avenue Routes) and the Brown Line El.
The Main Entrance to BenFest is located at 2215 West Irving Park Road. There are also additional entrances located at the 3900 blocks of North Bell Street and Leavitt Street.
Travel Alert: Leavitt closed south of Irving Park Road
Windy City Smokeout
Date: Friday, July 15 – Sunday, July 17
Time: Friday – 2:00 p.m.
Saturday – 12:00 p.m.
Sunday – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Grand Avenue and Chicago River
Line up includes Old Dominion, Chase Rice, Billy Currington, Frankie Ballard, Corey Smith, Big & Rich with special guest Cowboy Troy, Phil Vassar, Jessie James Decker, Whiskey Myers, Walker Country and Whiskey Jam perform at the annual fest, which also features beer and barbecue vendors. Read more here!
Celebrate Clark Street World Music Festival
Date: Saturday, July 16 – Sunday, July 17
Time: Noon each day, Saturday 11:00 p.m. close, Sunday 10:00 p.m.
Location: Rogers Park
This festival is one of the last independent street festivals in Chicago that is locally managed and organized by a community organization – Rogers Park Business Alliance.
The festival reflects the unique diversity in Rogers Park by presenting music from all four corners of the world encouraging audiences to dance and experience local, national and touring bands.
The festival provides two live music stages, food from local restaurants, beer, wine and micheladas from local bars, interactive entertainment throughout the festival area, an Art Lot, kids’ activities and especially a meeting space for the community. This information and more on their website!
Traffic Alert: Clark Street will be closed all weekend between Morse and Estes
Laid Back Festival
Date: Saturday, July 16
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
It’s A Celebration of Music & Food, featuring Gregg Allman, Peter Frampton, Blackberry Smoke, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band and more!
Date: Friday, July 15 – Sunday, July 17
Time: Friday 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Location: Toyota Park
It’s that time of year again! Chicago Open Air is right around the corner! It’s July 15th through July 17th at Toyota Park. You don’t want to miss this three day festival of rock, craft beer, and man food. Get your tickets before they sell-out!
RED, GREEN, PINK, BLUE LINES
July 15 – 17, Friday through Sunday
Increased Capacity and More Frequent Service
How does this affect my trip? Red Line:Friday through Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between 95th/Dan Ryan and Howard until 11:59 p.m. On Sunday, longer trains will begin operating from Howard earlier, at 5:00 a.m..
Green Line:Friday — Longer trains will operate from Cottage Grove, 10:22 a.m.to 11:59 p.m., from Ashland/63rd, 9:30 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., and from Harlem/Lake, 11:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m..
Saturday and Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between Harlem/Lake and Ashland/63rd – Cottage Grove from 11 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Pink Line:Fri — Longer trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and the Loop from 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. Trains will run every 12 minutes from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and the Loop from 11:00 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. on Saturday, and 7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.on Sunday.
Blue Line:Friday to Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between Forest Park and O’Hare from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
** Note: Forest Park-bound Blue Line trains will not stop at Irving Park due to ongoing construction. See alert on the Customer Alerts page.
Why is service being changed?
Added service is being provided for the convenience of customers attending Pitchfork and the Rock and Roll Half Marathon.
BLUE LINE July 15 – 16 10:00 p.m. Friday – 5:00 a.m. Saturday
10:00 p.m. Saturday – 6:00 a.m. Sunday
Boarding Change, Delays Between Montrose and Addison
How does this affect my trip?
Board/exit trains on the O’Hare-bound side of the platform at the Irving Park station.
Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Montrose and Addison, resulting in minor delays.
Allow extra travel time.
Why is service being changed?
We are performing station construction to improve the Irving Park station as part of the Your New Blue modernization program.
Jul 17 – 18 10:00 p.m. Sunday to 4:00 a.m. Monday
Boarding Change, Delays Between Irving Park and Logan Square
How does this affect my trip?
Board/exit all trains on the O’Hare-bound side of the platform at the Belmont and Addison stations.
Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Irving Park and Logan Square, resulting in minor delays.
Allow extra travel time.
Why is service being changed?
We are performing station construction to improve the Addison station as part of the Your New Blue modernization program.
ORANGE LINE July 15 – 16 Friday and Saturday nights
10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. next day
July 17 – 18 10:00 p.m. Sunday to 4:00 a.m. Monday
Boarding Change, Delays between Pulaski and Western How does this affect my trip?
Board/exit all trains on the Midway-bound side of the platform at the Kedzie station.
Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Pulaski and Western, resulting in minor delays.
Why is service being changed? We are performing track maintenance to ensure that trains continue to operate safely along the Orange Line.
RED LINE July 15 – 18 9:00 p.m. Friday to 4:00 a.m. Monday
How does this affect my trip? 95th-bound trains will not stop at Jarvis, Morse, or Loyola stations.
For service from these stations, take a Howard-bound train to Howard and transfer to a 95th-bound train.
For service to these stations, take a 95th-bound train to Granville and transfer to a Howard-bound train.
Allow extra travel time.
Why is service being changed?
We are performing track maintenance to ensure that trains continue to operate safely along the Red Line.
Traffic Restrictions & Road Projects
Union Pacific Railroad to Temporarily Close IL-176
From TravelMidwest.com: The Union Pacific Railroad will be closing the railroad crossing on IL-176 east of US-41. The closure is necessary to replace and widen the existing railroad crossing. During this time, the Lake County Division of Transportation will reconfigure the North Shore Bike Path at the railroad crossing by creating a separate railroad crossing of the bike path. The work will begin Monday, July 25 at 6 a.m. and is scheduled to reopen to traffic in the early evening of Saturday, July 30.
Click for larger map.
Detour Route: IL-43 to IL-137 to IL-131.
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