Cory Wharton Asks for Prayers as Daughter Maya Prepares for Open Heart Surgery

Cory Wharton's youngest daughter, Maya Grace, is preparing to have the first of two open-heart surgeries she requires after she was born with a congenital heart defect

Photo: Cory Wharton/Instagram

Cory Wharton is asking for prayers for his baby girl.

On Tuesday, the Teen Mom alum, 31, shared photos on Instagram documenting a procedure his youngest daughter, Maya Grace, 4 months, is having in preparation for an open-heart surgery later this month.

Posting a picture of the infant bundled up in a hospital crib with a stuffed bunny beside her, the father of three asked fans to "keep Maya and our family in your prayers 🙏🏽."

Wharton explained his daughter was in the hospital to have "right and left heart catheterization with angiography, using plastic tubes in the heart to measure the pressure and oxygen levels."

Acknowledging that he and girlfriend Taylor Selfridge, 27, have "known about this procedure for a while now," Wharton said the next step is "her big open heart surgery at the end of the month."

"We're taking it one day at a time one procedure at a time. but on the right track 👏🏽," Cory concluded his post.

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Selfridge — who also shares daughter Mila Mae, 2, with Wharton — shared photos of Maya in her hospital crib on Instagram, captioning them, "Cath lab day 🫀I love you so much baby girl 🤍."

Cheyenne Floyd — who shares daughter Ryder, 5, with Wharton — commented on the post, writing, "Praying for you sweet girl ❤️ sending you strength Tay."

Maya was born on June 1 and 10 days later, the couple revealed she was diagnosed with tricuspid atresia. Wharton explained the condition is a form of congenital heart disease that "happens when the heart's tricuspid valve does not develop. This valve plays a part in the heart's essential function, which is to pump blood between the lungs and body."

According to the Mayo Clinic, people with tricuspid atresia can't get enough oxygen through their body; they tend to tire easily and often are short of breath. It is treated with multiple surgeries, which Wharton noted when he mentioned Maya would be required to have two open-heart surgeries, one at 4 to 6 months old and one around age 3 or 4.

L: Caption . PHOTO: Cory Wharton/Instagram

R: Caption . PHOTO: Cory Wharton/Instagram

Selfridge revealed that she was around 22 weeks pregnant when Maya was diagnosed with tricuspid atresia.

"Our lives turned upside down in a matter of seconds," she said, adding that Maya "came into this world doing so much better than expected and with amazing cardiologists we were able to get a stent put in place instead of the first open heart surgery."

Maya had her first procedure at 6 days old, something Selfridge said made her feel "very helpless in caring for my own child."

Selfridge told her followers, "My first time really holding her was at 5 days old. The last 9 days have been a complete rollercoaster for us and the most challenging week I've had as a mother thus far. This is something I've wanted to share with everyone because I found myself looking for other heart mamas out there that know the pain I'm feeling and I've found help through some other moms."