Fox News host Bret Baier’s 16-year-old son,
Paul, is in recovery after undergoing emergency open heart surgery after doctors discovered a golf ball-sized aneurysm growing.
“I’m so grateful to have the community I have, and to have my life.
A lot can change in a matter of five hours,” Paul told People. Paul was born with five congenital heart defects, so when he went to the doctor after experiencing common cold symptoms, they suggested he get a chest X-ray and an MRI to rule out any serious issues.
The 16-year-old has undergone more than a dozen surgeries, his first open heart procedure as a newborn, three more at 10 months old, 6-years-old and 13-years-old.
“The doctor, Dr. Stein, was very thorough and before we left, she said, ‘Let’s do a chest X-ray, just to be sure everything’s okay,’” Paul’s mother Amy explained. The X-ray showed what the physician initially thought was tissue in Paul’s lungs, so she sent the scans to Paul’s cardiologist in Washington, D.C. Paul was in Palm Beach, Florida at the time, where his family lives when not in Washington, so when his cardiologist called a few days later recommending an MRI, he flew back to Washington to go to what he and his father assumed would be a routine appointment.
“The MRI comes back, and they sit me down and say, ‘This is a really big deal. This is an aneurysm the size of a golf ball that has formed off of his heart,’” said Bret. “And they didn’t know whether it might burst, but if it did, it might have been fatal in a matter of minutes.” Doctors recommended Paul undergo open heart surgery the next morning. In an interview with People, Bret recalled being the one to break the news to Paul.
“He thought I was joking at first, then he absorbed it and said, ‘Okay, let’s do what we need to do,’” Bret said. “He’s always been that warrior, but this was a big one to absorb.” The father-son duo spent the rest of the day on the golf course and enjoying a nice dinner before they had an anxious night’s sleep ahead of the surgery.
“As he rolled away on the gurney, it was pretty tough. Very emotional,” recalled Bret. “Then we had a waiting game for about 10 hours, which was excruciating.”
Paul was able to go home five days later after doctors removed the aneurysm in what doctors believe should be Paul’s last open-heart procedure. Paul will spend the next six weeks eating healthy and going on daily walks before he can resume normal activities. Amy said this experience has taught her to always seek a second opinion even if nothing seems amiss. “You can never be too sure, especially with cardiac kids. The more you check on things, the better. In this case, Paul didn’t even have any cardiac symptoms. We just got lucky,” she said.
