Oklahoma infant girl defies odds, recovers from rare heart condition

An Oklahoma infant defied the odds after recovering from a rare heart condition following surgeries and months of treatment in Oklahoma City.

Thursday, April 10th 2025, 7:06 am

By: Alexis Young

A pair of Oklahoma parents are sharing their experiences after nearly losing their baby girl due to a rare heart condition.

Mayleigh was only two months old when doctors discovered her heart was enlarged.

Mayleigh experienced respiratory issues, but it wasn't until she was nine months old when doctors discovered she was living with a rare heart disease known as anomalous left coronary artery in the pulmonary artery, or ALCAPA.

ALCAPA affects 1 in every 300,000 births, and the main feature of the condition is blood flowing to the wrong area of the heart. ALCAPA can result in death if left untreated, and at the time of discovery, a nurse looked at a heart scan and found Mayleigh's heart was only functioning at about 13% to 24% of its whole capacity.

"They told us that her heart looked like a grown man had had a massive heart attack," Mayleigh's father said.

Mayleigh spent significant time in the hospital, all while facing complications arising from her condition.

"She spent roughly three weeks here in the cardiac ICU," Mayleigh's mother said. "It was either two days or three days after her surgery she had a brain bleed which caused a minor stroke."

Mayleigh recovered two days after her stroke, but her pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Harold Burkhart, says her entire story is simply a miracle.

"I saw her earlier today; I think the parents have done a remarkable job, and you can't be filled with anything but happiness by how well she did," Burkhart said. "Over the next six months, we expect her to get better and better, and we would expect it to get back to normal."

Burkhart says most infants are diagnosed by three months old, but the longer ALCAPA remains undiagnosed, the weaker the heart gets.

Mayleigh's heart is not yet functioning at 100%, so she is still being treated at OU Health.

As doctors continue to monitor Mayleigh's condition, further appointments with neurologists will observe her brain and ensure everything is in working order.