Amir’s risky heart surgeries
Amir’s first surgery, at 5 days old, was the riskiest. During the eight-hour procedure, doctors inserted a shunt to open an artery and increase blood flow in his heart. “It was 50% he’d make it, and 50% he wouldn’t,” Snell says.
The surgery was a success, but there was a complication. The baby’s oxygen levels plummeted, and his left lung seized up. Doctors had to open it. After surgery, he was on a ventilator as he recovered.
“It was trying times,” Snell’s mother, Karla Mansfield notes. “After surgery, Samantha says, ‘We can finally breathe.’ It was a very long day.”
Amir came home a month later on eight medications and round-the-clock oxygen. At four months, he had surgery No. 2.
When doctors placed a catheter in his heart, it stopped twice. The procedure to redirect blood flow from his upper body to his lungs ultimately went well. A week later, doctors inserted a stent to keep Amir’s arteries open.
Amir had another hiccup – he got COVID-19, likely from his siblings who were back in school in person. Luckily, he only had a fever for 24 hours.
Amir’s road ahead
At just 1 year old, Amir has had what seems like a lifetime of issues. He’ll have the stent until he outgrows it, likely in his teens or early 20s. His oxygen levels, which are consistently low, also have to be monitored. But, after a delay in crawling, he’s currently walking around like other kids his age.
“He had a late start, but he’s all the way caught up,” Snell shares. “He’s exceeding all expectations.”