Dallas ISD trustee's infant daughter born with heart defect

A Dallas ISD school board member and his wife welcomed their first child. But they soon discovered not all is well.

By all definitions, it was a textbook birth — until a doctor discovered the baby girl has aortic valve stenosis, essentially blocking blood from traveling from her heart.

After being rushed to the hospital, what followed was a month-long medical journey with successes and failures that still isn't over yet.

When Miguel Solis and his wife, Jacqueline, need strength, determination and courage, they need only look into their daughter Olivia's tiny little eyes.

For the DISD board trustee and his wife, a pediatrician herself, the Children's Medical Center ICU has been home since February 22.

"For the past nearly 10 years, I've been focused on 150,000 plus children,” Miguel said. “But for the past month, I've just been focused on one."

"They want me to be more the mommy and less the doctor trying to think about what all these numbers and sounds mean,” Jacqueline said. “And just let me love on her and comfort her the way any other mommy in here would be doing"

Shortly after Olivia was born, her doctor heard a murmur in her heart.

"The worst thing a parent wants to hear was told to us,” Miguel said. “And that was your child has a very weak heart, and we need to do something dramatic pretty quickly"

What followed was a series of medical emergencies almost too numerous to list.

"She had a procedure that unfortunately didn't turn out the way we'd hoped,” Miguel said. “She had 63 minutes of CPR, which led her to 16 days of life support, an 8-hour open heart surgery, seizures and strokes."

The newborn joys most parents treasure were off limits. Olivia was hooked up to machines and tubes. Several times, she nearly died. But each time, she's pulled through.

On Tuesday, Jacqueline was allowed for the first time in 24 days to hold her baby girl in her arms.

"I'm a little greedy and I want more,” she said. “I can't wait until we're skin to skin again until she's hugging me. I just can't wait for all the things to come."

"We've been able to have one more day with her. Now, we're at one month with her,” Miguel said. “Our hope is she'll continue to improve, and we'll have a lifetime full of memories with her."

"She's changed so many people's lives, including ours,” Jacqueline said. “It's just great that God thought we were worthy enough to deserve her."

The medical procedures and risks continue for little Olivia. Right now, her parents are asking for prayers.