5-Year-Old Weatherford Boy Recovering From 3rd Open-Heart Surgery

A 5-year-old boy, who has been battling heart issues since before he was born, is recovering from his third open-heart surgery.

Doctors performed fetal heart surgery on Sterling Swiney while he was still in the womb of his mother, Amanda, on her 30th week of pregnancy. 

The procedure involved ballooning open Sterling's aortic valve so his heart could grow more. 

Sterling was diagnosed with Shone's complex, a type of heart disease that affects the left side of his heart.

"(The doctor) was telling us that, you know, it was an experimental thing and that it would greatly increase his odds for the left side not collapsing," Sterling's father, Toral, said on the fetal heart surgery.

A few months after Sterling's birth, he had his first open-heart surgery in Texas, during which doctors replaced some heart valves and repaired another, his family said. 

When he was two years old, he had his second open-heart surgery in Arizona in which doctors replaced his mitral valve. 

On Tuesday, the now 5-year-old Sterling had his third open-heart surgery to replace that same mitral valve, Toral said. 

Originally, he was expected to have the surgery at a later date, but due to Sterling becoming lethargic and experiencing a sharp decline, the surgery was moved up to this week, his parents said.

The surgery was performed at OU Health's Oklahoma Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City by Dr. Harold Burkhart.

"We needed to reopen his breast bone and do another heart surgery - he already had two in his short life - and remove that narrowed mitral valve and put in a bigger mechanical mitral valve," said Burkhart. "So we sewed that valve into place after we stopped his heart on bypass and then allowed his heart to beat and made sure everything worked properly, and closed him up."

Although the surgery was a success, Sterling remains intubated and can't talk. But his mom and dad continue to talk to him.

"We let him know we love him and that we're here for him," Amanda said. "I think he can somewhat hear. We just might end up in his coma dream."

Burkhart said he's hopeful that Sterling's breathing tube can be removed in the coming days, but he will require more surgeries years down the line as he outgrows his heart valves.

"This mitral valve though, hopefully, will last him into his teenage years, and then, we'll be able to put a adult-sized valve in and that should be it for the mitral valve," said Burkhart. "He had had another valve replaced in Texas before he moved to Oklahoma, and that's in the pulmonary position. That will need to be replaced as he grows as well."

While Sterling continues to recover, his parents are suffering from financial strain. 

They live more than an hour away in Weatherford but have remained by their son's bedside.

They created a GoFundMe page to help cover lost wages and expenses.

"Gas and food, and we have something wrong with the car right now, which is kind of scary with driving back and forth to Weatherford," Amanda said.

To help the Swiney family, click here to contribute to their GoFundMe page. 

For updates on Sterling's progress, visit his Facebook page, Sterling Light & His Courageous Fight.