Cory Wharton Asks Fans for Prayers as Daughter Maya, 7 Months, Undergoes Open Heart Surgery
Cory Wharton/Instagram
Cory Wharton's family is facing a difficult day that they hope is the beginning of a healthy new chapter for their little girl.
On Wednesday, The Challenge alum, 31, shared a selfie on Instagram with 7-month-old daughter Maya Grace, revealing that she will undergo open heart surgery today.
"The day is finally here @mayagrace.wharton has her open heart surgery today ❤️ All I'm asking, is for everybody to keep us in your prayers and keep praying for her & the doctors that will be working on her heart ❤️," he wrote.
"We have been anticipating this day for so long all the anxiety that has built up for months. I just can't wait for her heart to be fixed," the father of three continued. "Then we can move on from this chapter. Again thank you all, & I'll keep you all updated 🙏🏽."
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Maya was born on June 1, and 10 days later, the couple revealed she was diagnosed with tricuspid atresia. Wharton explained that the condition is a form of congenital heart disease that "happens when the heart's tricuspid valve does not develop. This valve plays a part in the heart's essential function, which is to pump blood between the lungs and body."
According to the Mayo Clinic, people with tricuspid atresia can't get enough oxygen through their bodies; they tend to tire easily and often are short of breath. It is treated with multiple surgeries, which Wharton noted when he mentioned Maya would be required to have two open-heart surgeries — the one she is currently undergoing and another around age 3 or 4.
Wharton's girlfriend, Taylor Selfridge, shared photos on her Instagram Story of her baby girl leading up to the procedure, simply captioning with, "❤️🙏🏽."
In addition to Maya, the couple also shares daughter Mila Mae, 2. Wharton is also dad to daughter Ryder, 5, with ex Cheyenne Floyd.
Cory Wharton/Instagram
In October, the Teen Mom star documented a procedure Maya was having in preparation for her open-heart surgery.
Posting a picture of the infant bundled up in a hospital crib with a stuffed bunny beside her, the father of three asked fans to "keep Maya and our family in your prayers 🙏🏽."
Wharton explained his daughter was in the hospital to have "right and left heart catheterization with angiography, using plastic tubes in the heart to measure the pressure and oxygen levels."
Acknowledging that he and Selfridge, 28, have "known about this procedure for a while now," Wharton explained that her surgery was set for the end of the month. It was later postponed for reasons the family has not shared.
After Maya's diagnosis was shared publicly, Selfridge revealed that she was around 22 weeks pregnant when they learned she would be born with tricuspid atresia.
"Our lives turned upside down in a matter of seconds," she said, adding that Maya "came into this world doing so much better than expected and with amazing cardiologists we were able to get a stent put in place instead of the first open heart surgery."
Maya had her first procedure at 6 days old, something Selfridge said made her feel "very helpless in caring for my own child."
Selfridge told her followers, "My first time really holding her was at 5 days old. The last 9 days have been a complete rollercoaster for us and the most challenging week I've had as a mother thus far. This is something I've wanted to share with everyone because I found myself looking for other heart mamas out there that know the pain I'm feeling and I've found help through some other moms."
