Proud parents struggle to be with premature daughter at Seattle hospital

Published 6:36 am Monday, February 26, 2007

SEATTLE – Caydence Jade Barnett, born on Wednesday to Port Angeles parents Tiffany and Christopher Barnett weighing 2 pounds, 9 ounces, is undergoing surgery today.

“Tomorrow is a high-risk surgery,” said Tiffany on Sunday as she and her husband, Christopher, were preparing to leave their Seattle motel room to see Caydence in the neo-natal intensive care unit at Swedish Medical Center, and perhaps hold her briefly.

“We can hold her once a day,” said Tiffany, 26.

“The rest of time, they want her to rest.”

The child, delivered by caesarean section prematurely at 33 weeks, was born with heart defects caused by a random genetic accident called Turner’s syndrome that affects only girls.

After today’s surgery, she’ll need at least one more, said her mother.

That will be an open-heart surgery and Caydence will have to grow before it can be attempted.

Right now, the 14-inch-long baby is too tiny to be put on a heart-lung machine.