A heartwarming story about a young girl born with half a heart who undergoes open-heart surgery and the dedicated surgeon who cares for her.
Mother Martha Penturf holds her 4.5-month-old son Atlas, who had open heart surgery in November performed by Dr. Kristine J. Guleserian, as nurse practitioner Casey Cox opens his shirt showing his incision during a checkup appointment at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.An array of monitors stands next to Ja‘khaia Williams hospital crib, beeping out a rhythmic tune. The four-month-old has tubes running to her face, and a big pink bow wrapped around her head.
She’s nestled under a light pink blanket, tiny and square. Dr. Kristine J. Guleserian lifts up the blanket, revealing Williams’ open chest.The infant, born “with half of a heart,” as Guleserian puts it, has just undergone another heart surgery. The doctor has left Williams' chest open in case the medical team needs to get back in there quickly.The hole in baby Ja’khaia’s chest is covered with a translucent wrap. Her tiny heart visibly beats against the material, a window into her small body’s internal workings.Brianna Hogg checks on her four-month-old daughter Ja’khaia Williams at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. The baby had just undergone another heart surgery — she was born “with half of a heart,” Guleserian said.Brianna Hogg, a 19-year-old Dallasite, said her little daughter’s open chest doesn’t make her squeamish — but that isn’t true for everyone. “Her dad squirms,” Hogg said.For Hogg, her daughter’s surgeries have instead reignited a desire to become a pediatrician.Treating tiny patients like Hogg’s daughter is a daily routine for Guleserian. She’s the director of the congenital heart surgery program at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas,Guleserian is talkative and confident as she navigates the hospital, walking past the miniature beds in the unit and pausing to dictate a text message into her phone. The 56-year old surgeon makes a point to remember her patients’ names and birthday
HEART SURGERY INFANT MEDICAL CITY CHILDREN's HOSPITAL DR. KRISTINE J. GULESERIAN CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS
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