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By Daniella Gray
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Two parents from Toronto, Canada, were excited to bring their newborn daughter home from hospital, but just a few weeks later, they were rushing her to the emergency room.
Stephanie Mulhall-Atkinson and Justin Atkinson (@warriergirlsloane) shared their story on Instagram, where they said their daughter, Sloane, had been making a soft but persistent grunting noise.
Stephanie, 37, told Newsweek that the couple brought this to the attention of doctors, nurses and their pediatrician.
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"We were told that she was just moaning and that it was normal and that was just her normal baby noises, which we now know is not true," Stephanie said.
The grunting, the couple now know, was not harmless. It was a sign that Sloane was struggling to breathe, and her body was working overtime to survive.
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The parents said several symptoms were overlooked. "She would mostly grunt when she was sleeping and being held," Stephanie added. "We also noticed that she was sweaty … and was happier when she was laying by herself."
When Sloane stopped eating one morning and had a faint ring of blue around her mouth—usually a sign of cyanosis where oxygen levels are low—the parents took her to the ER.
Doctors told Stephanie and Justin that Sloane's grunting meant their baby was in distress.
"We were shocked and angry," Justin said. "Everything quickly declined from there."
Within hours, Sloane was in the emergency operating room, surrounded by more than 20 specialists.
A cardiology fellow performed an echocardiogram that revealed her heart was barely functioning.
Then came the devastating diagnosis: dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart becomes enlarged and weakened, leaving it unable to pump blood effectively.
A week later, doctors confirmed she was in end-stage heart failure, and a transplant would be Sloane's only chance at survival.
"You can't even comprehend what's happening," Stephanie said. "To hear that your tiny perfect 'healthy' baby needs a heart transplant to survive is truly beyond words."
Sloane has now spent seven months in hospital. The family relocated from Vancouver after being transferred to Toronto's SickKids Hospital, one of only three centers in Canada equipped to implant a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). This now keeps Sloane alive as she waits for a donor heart.
Sloane has now been on the transplant list for six months. The average wait time in Canada is six to 12 months.
"We're just living life as 'normally' as possible until then," Stephanie said. "She's the happiest, funniest girl. Each day, we focus on her development and keeping her growing and getting strong, so that her recovery posttransplant goes smoothly! We can't wait to be able to take her home."
Update 7/7/25, 05:08 a.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify that parents Stephanie and Justin took Sloane to the emergency room and were later transferred to SickKids after they discovered she needed the VAD and a transplant.
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