Mom Recalls Learning Her Baby Needed a Heart Transplant After Doctors’ Repeated Dismissals: ‘It Was an Out-of-Body Experience’

A mother shares the emotional journey she faced after learning her baby needed a heart transplant for a life-threatening condition — a reality that doctors initially dismissed.

Stephanie Mulhall-Atkinson, 37, and Justin Atkinson, 33, welcomed their daughter, Sloane, in October 2024, according to The Daily Mail. Almost immediately, they noticed Sloane was making an unusual “grunting” sound, but medical staff reassured them everything was normal.

“We raised concern [about her grunting noises] to many different doctors and nurses while we were in the hospital for five days post-birth, including the pediatrician. They all said that her lungs sounded clear, so she was fine and that she was just a vocal baby making normal baby sounds,” Stephanie told the outlet.

However, around six weeks later, Stephanie and Justin spotted a “faint blue tint” around Sloane’s mouth and rushed her to the local emergency room. There, doctors questioned whether the grunting noises had been ongoing.

“We were then told that it actually is a sign of distress and not normal at all,” Stephanie told the Daily Mail. “Everything escalated from there.”

After conducting an echocardiogram, doctors revealed that Sloane’s heart was “barely pumping.”

“She was rushed up to the PICU [pediatric intensive care unit], sedated and intubated immediately,” Stephanie recalled.

Doctors diagnosed Sloane with dilated cardiomyopathy, a genetic condition that hampers the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively, according to the Mayo Clinic.

They also informed Stephanie and Justin that Sloane was in the advanced stages of heart failure and urgently needed a heart transplant, Stephanie told the Daily Mail.

“There are no words to describe those first acute days and weeks, and hearing that your tiny baby needs a heart transplant. It was an out-of-body experience. Your brain cannot comprehend that,” she added.

Stephanie said learning that Sloane had shown signs of distress for weeks made the situation even more difficult.

“For the six weeks we had her home, we just thought her noises were cute. Finding out that it meant she had been in distress that whole time was unbearable,” she said.

Sloane remains on life support and has been hospitalized for more than six months while waiting for a transplant.

In a GoFundMe created to support the family as they focus on Sloane’s care, Stephanie described the past seven months as “truly a nightmare,” but also “mixed with some of the most beautiful hope and kindness.”

“Our girl went from happy, smiley and chatty to intubated in the PICU within a matter of hours. The shock of a lifetime,” she wrote, crediting “mama’s intuition” for prompting her to seek emergency care.

Stephanie added, “How do you even begin to process except by holding onto ALL the hope. Our girl will be OKAY. She has to be. Her life will be long, full, and beautiful. We know it. This will be her story to tell one day.”

As of Saturday, July 26, the family’s GoFundMe has raised over $25,000 toward their $36,500 goal.