When Lindsey Mansuri had a routine anatomy scan around the 23rd week of her pregnancy, she never imagined the moment would alter her world. Her unborn daughter, Hadley, had a life-threatening, rare heart defect — dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) — where the heart’s major vessels are not in the correct position, restricting the body from receiving life-giving oxygen.
Referred to pediatric cardiologist Dr. Anitha Jayakumar at Texas Children’s North Austin, Lindsey and her husband Adam found themselves surrounded by a team of experts determined to save Hadley’s life. They met Dr. Javier Brenes, the cardiac surgeon who would operate on their newborn’s heart, and they walked the hospital halls where their baby would fight for survival.
On September 23, 2024, Hadley was born — and within three hours, she was in surgery. The first procedure, a septostomy, gave her heart a temporary fix. But four days later, she faced the ultimate test: a 10-hour open-heart surgery called an arterial switch operation.
Lindsey and Adam waited, and when Dr. Brenes emerged, his face said it all. “Even after the long surgery,” Lindsey recalled, “He looked so happy. He smiled the whole time he talked with us.”
Only 16 days later, against all odds, Hadley went home.
Today, she’s thriving: laughing, playing, hitting milestones, and even splashing through infant swim lessons this summer.
Hadley’s journey is one of grit, grace, and the miracles of modern medicine. For Lindsey and Adam, every heartbeat is a reminder of the team that gave their daughter a future — and the fierce love that carried them all through.
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