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But the parents of the formerly conjoined twins say they are doing well two years after they were separated in an 18-hour operation at Children’s National Medical Hospital in Washington, D.C.
“They’re mobile, and that alone is great,” said their mother, Angie Shaw, 27. “They are happy little boys. We’ve seen them battle, and we’ve wondered if they’d be alive in an hour or even two minutes. We’re reminded of how lucky we’ve been with them.”
Still, challenges remain. McHale faces hernia and eye operations in the next few months. He has a colostomy bag, and Mateo still needs regular catheterization. The twins visit Milwaukee about three times a month for continuing care with a team of more than a half-dozen doctors.
“It seems to be getting harder every time they have surgery,” Shaw said. “They’re starting to know. They get nervous and they aren’t allowed to eat, and when they can’t eat, we can’t eat. At least we know which pain medications work now and will make them comfortable.”
But the twins sleep 12 uninterrupted hours each night, and their medications have been reduced from 20 between them to three.
They can sing the alphabet and count to 10 in English and Spanish.
“It’s night and day how far they’ve come,” said their father, Ryan Shaw, 30.
He works 40 to 60 hours a week at the Riverbend Club in Kohler, leaving much of the boys’ care to his wife.
“She’s a gold-star mom in her patience with them,” Ryan Shaw said. “She has a full 18-hour day, every day.”
The couple hope to raise money in the next year to build a playground accessible to all special-needs children in Sheboygan.
“The boys inspired the idea,” Angie said. “They were given a small chance (to live). We don’t want to see them make it and not have a chance to play.”
