Girl, 14, Has Face Separated from Skull in Rare Surgery. Then, She Danced to Taylor Swift While Sedated

Jade Metivier was just 14 when she underwent her first facial reconstructive surgery, a procedure designed to help her eat, speak, and breathe more easily. After the surgery in May 2023, her eyes were sewn shut, and she was intubated.

Despite being sedated, Jade couldn’t resist dancing to a Taylor Swift song. A video captured the touching moment as she lay in a hospital bed at New York-Presbyterian in New York City, fluttering her hands and nodding her head in time to the hit “Cruel Summer.” The display drew nearby nurses rushing to watch.

“This is the first time I’ve seen an intubated patient dance,” a nurse can be heard saying. “You’re a rock star.”

The joyful moment offered a brief respite for Jade and her parents, Christi and Mark Metivier, as she began healing from craniofacial disjunction surgery—a complex operation in which her midfacial bones were separated from her skull to be moved forward. This first procedure addressed her midface hypoplasia, a condition where her eyes, jaw, and cheekbones developed at a different rate than her face. It was followed by two more intricate facial surgeries.

Nearly a year later, Jade was back in dance class, performing the aerials and twirls she loves.

“It changed my life,” Jade, now 16 and entering her sophomore year in high school in Kansas, told PEOPLE in a joint interview with her parents. She can now enjoy pizza and sandwiches she couldn’t eat before and has gained confidence to smile and be herself.

“She was the role model for us, keeping us going,” says Christi, 56, a stay-at-home mom. Mark, also 56, works as a sales director in agricultural supply chain management.

“Every aspect of her daily function has been improved. She is able to eat, speak, and breathe in a way that she never could prior to the procedure,” says Dr. Thomas Imahiyerobo, director of cleft and craniofacial surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Beyond this, the impact on her physical appearance has helped her community see her for the confident and exceptional person that she truly is.”

Her mother adds, “We all look back and say, ‘It was completely worth it.’”

Jade, adopted from China in 2011 at age 2, was born with a cleft lip and palate, which were corrected when she was a toddler. She underwent multiple surgeries over the years, but the diagnosis of midface hypoplasia was unexpected.

“As she started going through puberty, her face became concave, and it became increasingly harder for her to talk, to eat, and even to breathe,” Christi recalls. “You could hear her breathe because she couldn’t get her lips closed.”

Learning about the extensive surgeries required was overwhelming for Christi. “How can I put my daughter in a situation where someone takes her face off twice and cuts her skull in half and then puts her on a ventilator?” she remembers thinking.

Their fears were eased by Dr. Imahiyerobo, who performed the rare series of procedures. The couple shared details of each upcoming surgery gradually so Jade wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.

Following the first surgery, small metal devices called distractors were placed on either side of Jade’s skull. Attached to gears and cranks on the outside of her head, the devices were adjusted one millimeter a day for three weeks to gradually move her bones forward. After the distractors were removed, she had reconstructive surgery.

“We would have to leave the room and go cry because we couldn’t cry in front of her,” Christi recalls, noting that Jade had only a few moments of distress during the process.

With the support of her parents and older brothers, Jade slowly recovered, even attending dance classes with friends, though she couldn’t actively participate while the distractors were in place. Her friends frequently checked in with texts to make sure she was okay.

After completing her surgeries, Jade underwent speech therapy for the second time, and now her friends find it much easier to understand her.

Her parents express deep gratitude for Dr. Imahiyerobo and the medical team who made the life-changing surgery possible.

“Now, we get to see her grow and thrive,” Christi says. “She’s blessed our life.”