IOWA CITY, Iowa — At just 8 years old, Aiden Washburn has already undergone several life-saving open-heart surgeries. His parents were first referred to University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital after prenatal tests detected a heart abnormality.
“It was definitely not anything we ever expected,” Aiden’s mother, Josie, recalls. “When we found it out, it was pretty devastating.”
After a 23-week ultrasound and fetal echocardiogram — a specialized test performed during pregnancy to evaluate an unborn baby’s heart — Aiden was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. It’s a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is extremely underdeveloped and cannot properly pump blood to the body. Aiden also was born with only one functioning kidney.
Before Aiden’s birth, Josie and her husband, Ryan, met with the team at Stead Family Children’s Hospital, who would be caring for their son. Josie remembers pediatric cardiologist Benjamin Reinking, MD, explaining the procedures involved that could help Aiden survive.
Read Aiden’s story here.