Parents Told Newborn’s Noises Are ‘Normal’—Then Comes Devastating Diagnosis

Two parents of Toronto, Canada, were delighted to bring their newborn daughter back to hospital, but a few weeks later, they rushed to the emergency room.

Stephanie Mulhall-Atkinson and Justin Atkinson (@warriergirlsloane) shared their story on Instagram, where they said that their daughter, Sloane, had made a soft but persistent growl noise.

Stéphanie, 37, said Nowsweek That the couple brought this to the attention of doctors, nurses and their pediatrician.

“We were told that she was moving just and that it was normal and that it was only her normal baby noises, what we know now is not true,” said Stephanie.

The grunts, the couple know it now, was not harmless. It was a sign that Sloane had trouble breathing and his body was working overtime to survive.

Parents said several symptoms were overlooked. “She would especially growl when she was sleeping and was detained,” added Stephanie. “We also noticed that she was sweaty … and was happier when she was lying alone.”

When Sloane stopped eating one morning and had a low ring of blue around his mouth – usually a sign of cyanosis where the oxygen levels are low – the parents took it to the emergency room.

At the hospital for sick children (Sickkids), the doctors told Stephanie and Justin that Sloana’s grunts meant that their baby was in distress.

“We were shocked and angry,” said Justin. “Everything quickly decreased from there.”

In a few hours, Sloane was in the emergency operating room, surrounded by more than 20 specialists.

A bursa in cardiology made an echocardiogram which revealed that his heart barely worked.

Then came the devastating diagnosis: dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart becomes extended and weakened, leaving it unable to effectively pump blood.

A week later, doctors confirmed that she was in terminal heart failure, and a transplant would be the only chance of Sloane survival.

“You can’t even understand what’s going on,” said Stephanie. “To hear that your perfect” healthy “little baby needs a heart transplant to survive is really beyond words.”

Sloane has now spent seven months in the hospital. The family moved from Vancouver to Sickkids Hospital in Toronto, one of the three centers in Canada equipped to set up a ventricular assistance device (VAD). It now maintains Sloane alive as she awaits a donor heart.

Sloane has now been on the transplant list for six months. The average waiting time in Canada is six to 12 months.

“We just live life as” normally “as possible until then,” said Stephanie. “She is the happiest and funniest girl. Each day, we focus on her development and keeping her growing and becoming strong, so that her post-transplantation recovery is going well! We are looking forward to bringing her home.”