St. Vincent Heartbeat: Baby Born with Heart Outside of Her Chest
By: Jessica Ward
Updated: December 12, 2012
"It's amazing you know, every day I thank God for her being here."
At 16 weeks gestation, Audrina was diagnosed with ectopia cardis. You could see in her MRI, her hands circling her tiny heart, which was outside of her body.
Ashley was referred to Texas Children's Hospital, where a team of specialists came up with a plan to save her baby.
Born via c-section October 16, Audrina was immediately rushed into surgery.
Five weeks after surgery, Audrina is recovering in the NICU, getting stronger every day. She is the longest living baby in Texas to have been born with this rare condition.
"Right now, what we have over the heart is skin and a bit of muscle, so she doesn't have a breast plate like we have. So some day, we're going to have to do an operation to provide a more durable protector over the heart because she's going to want to do the things that children do."
Baby Audrina's condition is extremely rare. Only eight in every one million babies are born with it and 90 % do not survive.
