This high-risk surgery gave their daughter a chance. They found it in Fort Worth
Zach and Sarah Ellen Beavers are proud University of Georgia alums. The couple go to every football game they can, and still live in Athens, Georgia, where the university is located.
But in March, the couple moved from their beloved Athens to Fort Worth, in search of a chance to save their daughter’s life.
When Sarah Ellen was 20 weeks pregnant, her doctors referred her to a pediatric cardiologist. Something was wrong with their daughter’s heart, they said.
The couple learned that their unborn daughter, Anna Claire, had a rare combination of diagnoses. She had both Turner syndrome and hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning she was missing an X chromosome and the left side of her heart was too small to pump blood to the rest of her body.
She could survive while in the womb, but would likely survive only a few days after birth unless she underwent a high-risk surgery known as the Norwood procedure, their doctors said. The Norwood procedure allows the right side of the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body.
But the Beavers had a problem: Multiple hospitals they contacted said they would not perform surgery for Anna Claire because it was too risky.
The Beavers’ faith carried them through the unknowns.
“Whether we had three minutes with her, 30 days with her, we just came to a place of trusting that whatever time we had with her was what he desired for us,” Sarah Ellen said.
But then, one hospital they talked to suggested contacting Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. A doctor the Beavers spoke with had seen research presented by Cook Children’s at a conference about the Norwood procedure for patients with Turner syndrome and hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the exact diagnoses Anna Claire had.
On a Wednesday in March, the Beavers talked with doctors at Cook Children’s about the surgery. Two days later, they were in Fort Worth.
The research that led to the Beavers coming to Cook Children’s was led by Anisha Saripalli, a medical student at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. The research, which hasn’t been published yet, was a retrospective study of six patients like Anna Claire, who had both Turner syndrome and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Of the six patients, four survived and did not need a heart transplant. The research indicated that Cook Children’s had a high survival rate for patients with both diagnoses — although another expert cautioned against taking that result as gospel.
Dr. Douglas Overbey, a pediatric heart surgeon at Duke Health who was not affiliated with the research, cautioned that the patient cohort in Cook Children’s research was quite small.
“With small numbers like this it’s always hard to draw particular conclusions,” Overbey said.
Among all patients who have received the Norwood and similar procedures, according to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ data, Cook Children’s has an average survival rate.
But the research connected the Beavers to Cook Children’s and Fort Worth, their new home. After the Beavers relocated, they initially stayed at the Ronald McDonald House Fort Worth. They worked with Anna Claire’s doctors, Dr. Vincent Tam, the medical director of cardiothoracic surgery, and cardiologist Dr. Kevin Wilkes to prepare for Anna Claire’s birth and her surgery.
Anna Claire was born April 3. Less than a day later, she was in surgery at Cook Children’s. The Beavers got a call from the nursing staff every hour updating them on their daughter’s progress during the open-heart surgery.
“When we got the call that surgery was finished, it was like, OK, she did it. We made it,” Sarah Ellen said.
The Beavers spent the next few months staying with Anna Claire in the hospital, sleeping next to her on the hospital couch.
“A couch for one that we made for two,” Zach Beavers joked.
Eventually, Anna Claire was strong enough for the family of three to leave the hospital, and they settled into an apartment. Anna Claire needed a second surgery, the Glenn procedure, in July. By August, she was well enough to return home to Athens.
Now, Anna Claire’s personality is starting to shine through, her parents said. She smiles all the time, loves interacting with people, and isn’t particularly fussy. She just celebrated her first Thanksgiving. For the Beavers, Thanksgiving this year was extra special, Sarah Ellen said. They had a lot to be grateful for.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM.
