Wilmington mother shares story after baby was born with rare genetic condition

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — This Mother’s Day, one local mother will be celebrating for the first time after she gave birth in February—but being able to spend time with her son wasn’t set in stone after he was born with a rare life-threatening heart condition. 

“All I thought was, ‘Oh my God, is something wrong with my baby? Is he going to survive, is he going to be okay? Is this going to be a lifelong thing,” Janaya Hale recalled. 

Dr. Matthew Adams with Novant Health’s Betty H. Cameron Women and Children’s Hospital says baby Antoine was only receiving oxygen from one lung. 

“His right pulmonary artery was not connected to the main pulmonary artery. So the blue deoxygenated blood never made it to his right lung,” he explained. 

The condition affects roughly one in every 200,000 people. All the more reason, dad Antoine Gause II says, to be concerned. 

“Once they said they had never seen it before, that’s when I started to get a little worried,” he said. 

It was clear baby Antoine would need surgery. 

The newborn was transported to UNC Children’s Hospital where doctors were able to restore blood flow using a stint.  

“We didn’t know what to expect in the future. So, now we know that he’s okay, he’s doing good, he’s doing everything he’s supposed to, we feel better as parents, like we’re doing our job,” Hale said. 

Antoine will need another surgery after a couple months to permanently connect the artery to his heart.  

“We’ll have to go back with a surgery in a couple months where they can directly connect that artery back to where it needs to be,” Adams explained. 

For now, Hale and Gause say they’re enjoying spending Antoine’s first few milestones together. 

“He is always a good baby. As long as he’s fed, changed, and burped, that’s all he cares about,” Hale said.