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10:15 AM Tuesday, August 10th, 2004
Doctors at The Children's Hosptial at Montefiore announced this morning that Carl Aguirre is now awake and breathing without a ventilator. Both brothers were being kept sedated and on ventilators to protect their surgical sites and help them rest and recouperate following the 17-hour surgery that separated them last Wednesday.
Clarence, resting a few feet away in his own bed, was taken of his ventilator late yesterday afternoon. Both boys continue to amaze pediatric specialists at CHAM with their rapid recovery from the complex and challenging surgery.
"When I removed Clarence's breathing tube he began to cry, and it took me a minute to figure out why," said Dr. David Staffenberg. "I realized I was obstructing his view of the TV!"
Clarence spent the next few minutes looking up at his mother Arlene, who was at his bedside.
"Both boys are now active, alert and moving around a little bit more than we'd like, but any parent will tell you that's what you get with 2-year olds," said Dr. Staffenberg. "The CHAM nursing team and others caring for the boys keeps a close watch on them so they can't perform their usual tricks, like pulling off monitors and climbing out of their beds."
"Of course, Arlene and her mother Evelyn have been right there with the boys, and they are enjoying Carl and Clarence's reactions to sights and sounds, as well as to all the cuddles and kisses they are getting," he said.
Because of the boys' continued rapid recovery, it is expected that they may be introduced to one another "face to face" as early as today.
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Director, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery,
CHAM
We're known around the world for successfully separating Carl and Clarence Aguirre, born joined at the tops of their heads. Our specialists care daily for children with brain tumors, spinal cord injuries and craniofacial deformities.
