We ❤️ Maya

This is the story of little Maya.

Kelsey and Ryan Tobin of Powell Wyoming,  first found out that their beautiful baby Maya had a problem with her heart at the 20 week ultra sound. The next day They were called back to the doctor to learn that they believed Maya has transposition of the great arteries, meaning her aorta and pulmonary valve were switched. They were referred to billings clinic to get an fetal echocardiogram to confirm the diagnosis. They skipped the middle man and headed to Denver where they found out that Maya (little baby girl Tobin at the time) had a more complex condition but along the same lines. Maya was diagnosed with complex DORV with mild pulmonary stenosis and a VSD. From that point, monthly trips to Denver, weekly ultra sounds, and stress tests became part of the normal. They thought they were just going in to find out the gender and came out learning a lot more.

Maya's transposition of the pulmonary valve and aorta is more front to back versus side to side. Therefore, her aorta is attached to the right ventricle and it's quite a trek to get the blood from left ventricle to the aorta, which is how a normal heart functions. Because of this, the original surgery (arterial switch) is no longer an option. Instead, they will be building a pathway from the left ventricle to the aorta. They will patch the hole in the process of building this pathway. In addition, they will have to route the blood from the right ventricle up and over this pathway in order to get it to the pulmonary valve. Since this pathway has to be fairly large to support the output, this complicates the surgery and puts Maya at a risk for needed an artificial valve. This is a "game time" decision that the surgeon will make at that time. Should this happen, Maya will need to have the valve replaced every 5 years so that the valve can grow with her. Needless to say, we are hoping that she will be able to go without that option.

Maya also has pulmonary stenosis. This means that there is an obstruction blocking the flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary valve.

The doctors were hoping her pulmonary stenosis (blockage) increased a little since birth but it didn't so she could be potentially at risk for permanent damage to the lungs due to too much pressure. With that potential risk the doctors have chosen to set a date for Maya's surgery in approximately two weeks.

Although they knew this was coming, the news was very shocking and emotional. They were going for "later" rather than "sooner". But we understand that this is what needs to happen in order for their baby girl to get fixed. The doctors seem confident that she will do very well and are hopeful that they can use all of Maya's "parts" to repair her heart versus having to use an artificial valve. Again these are game time decisions for the surgeon, but at least there is talk. Maya is looking at approximately two weeks in the hospital for recovery. Should she come out like a rock star and not have to fight any infection or wound problems she could be discharged locally (at Kelsey's brothers house) and stay there for a week. Again, these are just decisions that will have to be made as they go. Thank you most all for your love and support of Miss Maya. We as friends and family can only image the emotional stress this causes this beautiful family. We are hoping to help alleviate the financial stress so their only focus has to be taking care of their princess Maya.