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Oklahoma infant’s fight for life offers wealth of hope

 
BY SUSAN SIMPSON    Comment on this article Leave a comment
Published: November 21, 2008
photo - JAYMIE SMITH / DYLAN SMITH / JASE SMITH: Newborn Madalin Smith, mom Jaymie and brothers Dylan, 4, and Jase, 2, in the ICU at Children Hospital, Wednesday, November 19, 2008. Dr. Marco Paliotta will perform a rare heart surgery on Madalin Smith. Photo by David McDaniel/The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD
JAYMIE SMITH / DYLAN SMITH / JASE SMITH: Newborn Madalin Smith, mom Jaymie and brothers Dylan, 4, and Jase, 2, in the ICU at Children Hospital, Wednesday, November 19, 2008. Dr. Marco Paliotta will perform a rare heart surgery on Madalin Smith. Photo by David McDaniel/The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

If you ask 4-year-old Dylan why his baby sister Madalin is in the hospital, he’ll tell you, "She has a broken heart.”

If you ask Madalin’s grandmother, Vicky Norris, why she cried the first time she held the tiny baby this week, she’ll say she fears many hearts will break if Madalin doesn’t survive an often-fatal congenital heart defect.

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More Info

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

It is a birth defect in which a baby is born with the left side of the heart — including the aorta, aortic valve, left ventricle and mitral valve — underdeveloped. Babies with this syndrome become ashen and have difficulty breathing and feeding. Unless treated early, it can be fatal in the first weeks of life.

Source:

American Heart Association

How to Help

A fund has been set up at MidFirst bank branches in Oklahoma to assist the Smith family. Donations can be made at any branch to the "Madalin Smith support trust account” or mailed to any branch in Oklahoma.

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Related Topics: Health and Fitness, Cardiovascular Medicine



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