Phil and Alex Congelliere shared some updates on their baby girl as she recently underwent open-heart surgery. Late last month the YouTubers shared photos of daughter Cassidy Drew, who is only 4 months old, from the hospital, just ahead of the medical procedure. Cassidy has the same congenital heart defect as her father, which was discovered back in March while Alex was still pregnant.
In a series of YouTube videos and Instagram posts, the couple has done an excellent job of keeping their fans apprised of little Cassidy’s condition. Now, we’re beginning to get the full picture of the surgery and whether or not it will ultimately be a successful one.
Baby Cassidy went into to open-heart surgery in late October and her parents documented much of the journey.
“It’s time. Before they rolled you into your open heart surgery, while our tears and our prayers were flowing non-stop, your little heart was bursting with joy,” Phil wrote on Instagram the morning of the procedure alongside the baby smiling as she held his finger. “Thank you for your smiles and your new sound of laughter. You go get fixed little buddy. Daddy loves you.”
Around the same time, Alex posted a close-up of Cassidy pre-operation, asking her followers for prayers.
“Last little view of Cassidy’s precious chest. Today her heart gets a fresh start. Please pray. Cassidy is in the operating room for her open heart surgery right now,” the mom wrote.
Cassidy is the youngest member of the Congelliere family. She’s got two older sisters Callie Jo, 4, and Kinsley Grace, 5. As you might expect, the family was anxious about the procedure, but they managed to share updates along the way.
On her Instagram Story, Alex offered hourly check-ins, writing that her daughter was placed under anesthesia at 8:35 a.m., and by 9:35 the surgeon was “working down to her heart and getting her ready for the heart/lung bypass machine.”
Alex said Cassidy was on the bypass machine by 10:35 a.m., with the surgical team “working on patching the holes in her heart.”
In a vlog back in March, the couple documented the emotional moment they found out their baby on the way would have a heart defect, which they said was their “worst fear.” During the video, Phil explained he was “incredibly disappointed” at the discovery, at one point breaking into tears, telling Alex, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s gut-wrenching,” the dad said after learning of his daughter’s condition. “It’s exactly what I had, and we thought all genetic screening and everything had ruled this out. It didn’t. It does feel like our journey has been filled with things that have tested us and challenged us, and it feels like it’s gonna be almost impossible here.”
In November 2019, YouTubers Phil and Alex Congelliere told their fans that the wait was finally over and that they were growing their family by one. As parents of two, Phil and Alex dreamed of becoming parents of three. However, due to years of infertility, it was a struggle for that dream to come true.
For seven years, the family documented their journey towards getting pregnant and welcoming another child into their family on YouTube. But then, the positive test they were waiting for. And the moment Alex learned she was finally pregnant and the hilarious moment her children walked in on the moment she was hoping to keep private was captured on camera.
“After seven years of infertility, we never imagined we’d get to experience this!” the couple told People in November. “Every moment of this pregnancy has been a blessing and brought us immense joy, but it is not lost on us that there are so many in our infertility community who still long for their miracle after their seasons of loss.”
RELATED: ‘She Is HERE’: YouTubers Phil and Alex Congelliere Welcome a Daughter After 8 Years of Infertility
“2 strong babies, 2 open heart surgeries, 2 AVSD or AV Canal or endocardial cushion defect babies,” the mom wrote on Instagram. “Our amazing ICU nurse has been a nurse for 15 years. She said in her whole career she has only seen a handful of patients where a parent also had a heart condition…and maybe less than 5 patients where the heart condition was the same as the parent.”
“I’d say these two babies are pretty remarkable! I also can’t believe this was only 2 weeks ago!”
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In another update, just hours later, the YouTube star revealed that all of her little girls were safe at home and that Cassidy was no longer recovering at the hospital. She also took the opportunity to advocate for adoption, of which two of her daughters were the product of.
“It feels so incredible to be home with ALL my princesses!”
We’re so excited that this scary moment for the Congelliere family seems to have come to a peaceful conclusion. We wish Cassidy a continued, speedy recovery, and all the best for this beautiful family!
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