Initially, doctors scheduled an in-utero surgery to try and clear the blockage with a special laser scope, but the procedure failed. It was after this that the medical team made a unique and highly risky decision, which would later be symbolically referred to as the baby being “born twice.” At 25 weeks of pregnancy, at the specialized Orlando Health Winnie Palmer hospital, doctors used a cesarean section to deliver only the head and arms of the fetus from the mother’s uterus, while the rest of his body remained inside so that the baby would not lose the oxygen supply provided by the mother through the placenta. In this unusual and tense moment, an ear, nose, and throat specialist successfully created an airway surgically for the little one. Immediately after the successful operation, doctors returned the baby back into the uterus, meticulously stitched the walls, and the mother had to remain in the hospital under strict supervision to carry the pregnancy to term.
Six weeks after this unique medical miracle, in August 2025, Keishera went into labor, and baby Cassian Joubert was finally born into the world. Since he needed specialized medical support immediately upon birth, doctors performed another complex procedure before he could even take his first independent breath. Cassian weighed just about three pounds, because of which he had to undergo a lengthy and difficult rehabilitation in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The little fighter spent four months and nine days in the clinic and was able to return home to his family exactly for the Christmas holiday, which proved to be the best gift for his parents and doctors.
Although Cassian still requires a ventilator to breathe today and faces several more medical procedures to completely clear his airway, he is doing well and growing actively. Cassian’s unique case is such a significant achievement in the medical field that Dr. Vlastos plans to present the details of this surgery at an international medical conference in Japan. As for the Joubert family themselves, they celebrate their son’s first anniversary with special emotion, as little Cassian will now have two birthdays a year – one to commemorate the day the unique surgery saved his life, and the other for the day he truly entered the world.
