“Teen Mom: The Next Chapter” star Taylor Selfridge shared an emotional update nearly two weeks after her youngest daughter, Maya — whom she shares with ex-boyfriend Cory Wharton — underwent her second open-heart surgery.
Maya Wharton Was Born With Tricuspid Atresia
Before Maya was born, Taylor, 31, and Cory, 34, learned their unborn daughter had a heart defect. The couple first announced her diagnosis in June 2022, with Wharton sharing that he was “scared, worried, nervous, angry, sad, mad & [didn’t] understand why this is happening to [our] baby.”
Days ahead of her second surgery, Wharton explained, “We found out that she had Tricuspid Atresia when Taylor was pregnant.”
“We knew that she was gonna require at least two open heart surgeries & the day is slowly arriving,” he continued via Instagram on October 2. “I’m excited for her to get it done & us putting it behind us. Also very anxious and nervous for it to happen.”
He later shared a positive update with social media followers, writing, “Tuesday, Maya had Open-Heart Surgery( Fontan Procedure) & everything went well.”
“Right now we’re still in the recovery phase which has its own challenges, every time you think things are getting better,” he added on October 10. “A new challenge arises, but we’ll just keep tackling them as they come. Maya’s a fighter and she’s got this.”
Taylor Selfridge Shares Update on Maya’s Surgery
“After 13 days in the hospital we are home!” she wrote on Tuesday, October 21. “Maya had her final open heart surgery called the Fontan.”
The reality star — who also shares daughter Mila Mae with Wharton — explained that before the Fontan surgery, Maya’s oxygenated blood and non-oxygenated blood were mixing, causing low oxygen to her lungs.
“Maya used to sit at 75-80 [percent] naturally for oxygen, which also caused her to look purple or blueish. After the fontan she is sitting around the low 90s,” she added, hopeful that Maya’s numbers will reach the “higher 90s.”
The family had been anticipating this surgery, Maya’s final open-heart surgery in her lifelong journey, for four years.
“This will be a forever health issue for her, but she should never need another open heart surgery again and if she does, she will probably be older than me now,” Selfridge continued. “She is absolutely the strongest person I have ever known. I’ve watched her go through very, very traumatic things over the last 3 years and after all of this it’s not easy road, but at the end of the day, it was all worth it because she’s here.”
What Is Tricuspid Atresia?
Tricuspid atresia is a congenital heart defect in which the valve isn’t formed between the two right heart chambers, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Instead, a solid sheet of tissue blocks the blood flow between the right heart chambers. The condition limits blood flow through the heart. Tricuspid atresia causes the right lower heart to be underdeveloped.”
Maya underwent her first surgery just days after birth. She later had an open-heart surgery around her six-month birthday, with her latest procedure being her last.
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‘Teen Mom’ Star Shares Emotional Update After Daughter’s Open-Heart Surgery