[Jeff Glor] Ivy Finn spent the first six months of her life inside a hospital after becoming the first to undergo an experimental surgery, before she was even born. It was her only chance of survival after an ultrasound revealed she had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart.
She also had a condition called intact atrial septum, where blood backs up and damages the lungs, worsening her case. When CBS News first met her parents, Rachel and Geoff last year, they were overjoyed Ivy could even be delivered.
“Really she’s exceeded expectations in every way,” Geoff Finn said.
Now, Ivy is going home. The Finns marked the milestone in Houston, where Texas Children’s Hospitalagreed to take Ivy’s case after the Finns were turned away by other hospitals.
“She has one more surgery probably right around the 2 to 4 year range. And then after that it’s really just how long is her heart going to be able to kind of keep up,” Geoff Finn said.
Continue reading here.
[Editor’s Note: This article was written by Jeff Glor and originally published at CBS News. Title changed by P&P.]
