me ♪ ♪ i've got a restless mind i've got a restless mind so don't you wait up on me i'm leaving with the light ♪ ♪ don't wait up on me i've got a restless mind trying to pull ahead i'm always chasing time ♪ ♪ don't wait up on me i've got a restless mind don't you wait up

on me i'm leaving with the light ♪ ♪ i've got a restless mind ♪ ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, when these conjoined twins were born their world was as small as they were and they shared every breath. now their parents making an unimaginable decision. >> i want to give them a shot at life. >> can these doctors pull off one of medicine's most complicated and risky surgeries? tonight we're right there in the o.r. for every step of an incredible journey. and pure glamor. caitlyn jenner, no stranger to awards ceremonies. now one of the most famous faces

in the transgender community. >> wow. trans people deserve something vital. they deserve your respect. >> the powerful new message she shared and the immediate reaction on social media. but first the "nightline 5." i've been the same shade of red for many years. it's time to change it up. hello golden blonde. >> nice and easy for natural-looking color. >> i don't know if blonds have more fun but i plan to find out. >> when salon pas began a single patch created the category of pain relief. 80 years later salon pas has evolved into a complete family of pain relievers. perfect for back muscle or join pain. salon some of my competitors plan to reduce the use of antibiotics over the next few years. but what are you having for dinner tonight? try perdue® simply smart® and harvestland®. two trusted perdue brands of chicken raised with no antibiotics ever.

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good evening. tonight a rare and gripping inside look at one of the riskiest and most emotionally fraught surgical procedures imaginable. separating conjoined twins. r babies in texas whose parents made the anguishing decision to give the surgeons the red light. we were with them every step of the way. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> reporter: twins living face-to-face sharing every brett as conjoined twins for ten months. but in just a few hours, they'll undergo a very risky and complicated surgery to separate them. >> separating conjoined twins is a very complicated task. >> i want to give them a shot at a normal life. >> i try to tell her several times, i said look we could lose them both. now we're here. got to let them fight. >> reporter: but their fight

really began the day they were born, conjoined from their ribcage down to did their pelvises. they exceed all medical expectations and survive the first few days after their birth. >> our little miracle girls, the best thing ever just to see them alive. >> reporter: so their parents, alise and eric monta, give them meaningful middle names. hope and faith. >> they weren't fully developed so they had a lot of challenges. so i was very cautious. but they were doing well. >> reporter: giving dr. cass and his team at texas children's hospital in houston hope that they could separate the girls. they would remain here in the neonatal intensive care unit until strong enough for the risky surgery. bolstered by constan visits from their parents and their older brother. over the months before surgery, doctors puzzled a way to separate them safely using advanced imaging technology and 3d modelling to unravel the twins' complicated anatomy.

>> we were able to determine that there was a lot of stuff connected. that included their ribcage, sternum, pericardial sacs that surround our heart. when the heart sacs are connected, most of the time they're not separatable or they're not survivable. >> i think in this case the benefits outweigh the risks. >> when you think about potential risks, what goes through your mind? >> sadness. i don't want to lose them. and i know there's that risk. but if i dwell on that i'm missing out on what could possibly, you know come out positive in the end. >> reporter: after ten months it's finally the money if anything the surgery. >> all right, ready? >> yes, sir. i'm ready. i'm going to take good care of them, okay? >> to turn over your child to a team of doctors and nurses -- to perform a surgery of this magnitude and trust that they

will get your children through -- that for me has always humbled me. i was very excited. it's a little bit like sports, game day, the go time. >> reporter: pulling off such a hefty surgery requires a team of 26. all led by dr. cass and dr. olutoye. the plan? to first separate the organs of the chest. and then move down to the abdomen. and finish with the bell advice. >> we started at the top and we began to work downward. >> reporter: the heart surgeon starts to cut open the heart sac. >> they'll call me when it's done. you never know what they're going to say. >> just trying to stay calm. anybody want an orange? no? >> everybody hopes for the best but it's also important to really know that there are potential hazards and risks

involved. >> everything is going very well. we got to the pericardium and were separating the chest sacs. >> i think they're starting to work on the liver now. >> oh action okay they already separated the pericardial sac? >> reporter: in the o.r. things are much more complicated than the surgeons had hoped. they realize that in order to fully separate the hearts the liver and diaphragm must be divided up. >> half their ribcage was open. the sacs of their heart was partly open. we did start separating the diaphragms, separating the liver. then something happened. adeline started to get sick. >> she was showing signs that she was unstable and her blood pressure was not staying up.

>> reporter: it's 4:45 p.m. the monta family is summoned to the surgical wing to meet with the doctor. >> there's a fair amount of bleeding with dividing the liver. during that bleeding process, adeline's heart wasn't pumping very well. >> heart rate had gotten so low we needed to start compressing her heart. i took her heart in my hands. you empty the heart, feel it empty, let it feel with blood, squeeze it back again. being able to do it consistently and control your own emotion as you're doing it so you're not too aggressive in the process and squeezing too hard. >> a minor hiccup i'm downplaying it. it was a significant event with blood loss. >> i really can't tell how long i was doing that for. it's one of those things you're right in the moment and you're not thinking about time. as adie started to return i could feel her heart compress. >> having to compress the heart a few minutes and immediately recovered. but it's more than we wanted to have.

as far as -- >> yeah. >> i tried to tell her, you know several times, i said look we could lose them both. we could lose one. you've just got to be ready. if that's god's will that's his will. you never could be ready for that but we're as ready as we could ever be. >> and we'll just press on. but it is going to be a long night for you guys. >> yeah. >> you need to take care of yourselves. >> we'll try. >> i know. easier said than done. >> yeah. >> reporter: it's a long night for the surgeons too. then, shortly after 11:00, the surgical team is about to make history. >> this was the time everyone had waited for, for this final moment when the girls are separated. anyone not on their shift at that time said get everybody up, you don't want to miss this. >> five, four, three, two, one -- separated. >> then i made the last incision

in the skin to put the twins on separate beds. two humans. two babies. >> truly separate for the first time. >> so far, so good. they are separate. everything went well. >> i told you, i told you, i told you! >> each baby has everything she needs. all the pieces are there. >> thanks. >> thank you. >> there's a lot of the work to do we'll keep working. >> there's no sleeping. >> sleep is overrated. >> reporter: the surgeons now have to rebuild the tiny bodies. >> we probably won't get it this close -- >> reporter: finally after 26 tore truss hours of waiting it's

time for eric and alise to see their daughters as two separate people for the first time. >> look, smiles. >> i'm so proud of you! >> oh she looks so much like you. >> it was breathtaking. i was just in awe at what just took place. >> i would have to say this. pretty exciting. >> when i first saw adie after surgery, it was a little scary. >> possibly because her heart was just a little more compromised, she's just had a little tougher time. but i'm very optimistic about the future. >> what do you hope for them dad? >> just keep it simple for now. then later on we can reach for the stars. but now let's just reach the normal milestones. >> reporter: two months after separation, they reached one of those milestones. the twins' 1st birthday. >> it's been a year. it went by so fast. >> reporter: over the next few months, more milestones.

natalie and then adeline are released from the hospital. >> who's going home today? >> are you outside? >> reporter: then finally the girls get to go home to littlefield, texas, for the first time ever. >> i feel really good. it's been a long year. >> reporter: they now have a chance to live their lives separately. but always together. for "nightline," i'm juju chang in houston, texas. >> you can see much more of the mata twins' remarkable journey in the one-hour special "conjoined twins: miracle separation" airing thursday on the discovery life channel. coming up on "nightline," caitlyn jenner gracing the stage at the espes. how she's using her new platform and her new voice. it's year end!

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a truly extraordinary moment in the world of sports tonight. nearly four years ago, bruce jenner all muscle and grit burst into the national consciousness while capturing

olympic glory. tonight caitlyn jenner having recently become the most famous face in the transgender community, received a major honor at the elsespys. >> ladies and gentlemen, the courageous, the stunning, caitlyn jenner. >> reporter: a standing ovation tonight for an athlete who became an american hero at the olympics and may now be changing america itself. caitlyn jenner kissing her mother and then walking to the stage at the espys right here on abc to accept the arthur ashe courage award. >> it's been eye-opening, inspiring, but also frightening. all across this country right now, all across the world, at this very moment there are young people coming to terms with being transgender. >> reporter: with help from angelina jolie's stylist, jenner sparkled in a stunning versace dress, a stark contrast to bruce

jenner, the athlete we've known for decades. the chiseled sportsman with the all-american good looks setting a world record in the grueling decathlon in the 1976 olympics. ten events over two days pushing the limits of human strength speed, and endurance. the former olympic champ once regarded as the world's greatest athlete now championing something greater. >> this transition has been harder on me than anything i could imagine. and that's the case for so many others besides me. for that reason alone, trans people deserve something vital. they deserve your respect. >> reporter: her speech was preceded by a moving video tribute narrated by jon hamm which traced jenner's extraordinary personal arc from olympic great to corporate pitchman to reality show dad to isolated individual trying to

maintain privacy under the glare of the paparazzi. >> jenner went in for a procedure to reduce his adam's apple. >> there was a picture of my dad crying in his car. that was really, really hard to see. because my dad does not cry. >> reporter: perhaps the most emotional moment in her speech tonight, when caitlyn thanked her children. >> i always wanted my children to be so proud of their dad. for what he was able to accomplish in his life. you guys have given so much back to me. you've given me so much support. i am so so grateful to have all of you in my life. >> reporter: her words striking a chord with many. viewers tweeting caitlyn jenner you have shown again that you continue to be a champion. and, caitlyn jenner equals courage. daughter kylie jenner saying i love my dad. it's been six weeks since jenner first introduced the world to caitlyn. this behind the scenes video from "vanity fair" showing renowned photographer annie

leibovitz taking jenner's pictures for the magazine. you could see the physical transformation and also sense the emotional relief. >> bruce always had to tell a lie. he was always living that lie. every day, he always had a secret, from morning till night. caitlyn doesn't have any secrets. >> reporter: tonight, jenner made a point to thank our own diane sawyer. >> you can only tell your story the first time once and diane, you did it so authentically and so gracefully. >> i look at guys and i go he's comfortable in his own skin. you know? and i thought, wouldn't that be a nice way to go through life? i look at women all the time thinking, oh my god, how lucky are they, that they can wake up in the morning and be themselves. but me -- i'm stuck here in the middle. i got nowhere to go. >> caitlyn! >> reporter: despite the sometimes paralyzing fear of what other people might think the feelings of potential regret finally swayed jenner.

>> if i die, which i could be diagnosed next week with cancer and boom you're gone i'd be so mad at myself that i didn't explore that side of me. >> did you change your hair? >> reporter: as we see in the docu series "i am cait," those challenges still play out daily, even in lighthearted ways. >> now i know why girls need a sports bra. >> reporter: tonight at the espys from our sister network espn also owned by our parent company dithsney that transformation continues. jenner onstage embraceing her voice in the transgender community. >> i know i'm clear in my responsibility going forward. to do whatever i can to reshape the landscape of how trans issued are viewed. >> reporter: last week she wrote a series of online articles exploring lgbt issues writing, up until now i have totally isolated myself from the transgender community, so i have a lot of catching up to do.

>> while it may not be easy to get past is things you always don't understand i wanted proof that it is absolutely possible if we only do it together. thank you. up next on "nightline," the look is brand new. so are the rides and the castle is bigger better and dreamier than ever. it's a sneak peek tonight at disney shanghai. going out for date night with your man is nice... ...but i think women would agree... ...snuggling up after is kinda nice too. but here's the thing: about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection

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finally tonight, a new frontier for disney.

abc's bob woodruff takes us inside disney shanghai. >> reporter: tonight, a first glimpse at disney's newest happiest place on earth. 1,000 acres, 12,000 employees, four years in the making. this is shanghai disneyland. >> i am right here in the center of this resort. it is the enchanted storybook castle. when this opens it will be the tallest and biggest castle in all of disney. inside the massive castle a magical boat ride restaurant and stage. there's a manmade mountain with a towering waterfall. an even more modern twist on tomorrowland -- this roller coaster is based on the movie "tron." traditional chinese artistry at the heart of the park's design. top chinese acrobats already rehearsing for a show based on disney's "tarzan." it's the signature resort worldwide for abc's parent company disney. this will cost upwards of $5.5 billion to complete. >> this is going to open in the spring? >> spring 2016. >> i'm confident we're going to

make the date that we've got in mind. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm bob woodruff in shanghai. >> we want to thank you for watching abc news tonight. tune into "gma" first thing in the morning. we're online 24/7 on our "nightline" facebook page and abcnews.com. thanks again for watching and have a great night. [cheers and applause] >> yeah! hey! hey! hey. hey! welcome to millionaire.