Country singer Rory Feek has revealed the terrifying medical emergency that nearly cost his family everything.
Feek said that just two weeks after his 12-year-old daughter Indiana underwent open heart surgery, he and his wife Rebecca feared the worst due to a sudden health scare, so they rushed her to the hospital and airlifted her by helicopter.
In an emotional Substack post published Saturday, Feek explained how what seemed like a routine illness turned into a life-threatening emergency for Indiana, who was born with ventricular septal defect, a congenital heart defect diagnosed shortly after birth in 2014.
“It started with a headache in the afternoon, then a cough in the middle of the night,” Feek began. “But it wasn’t actually a cough, it was Indy throwing up. That’s what it sounds like to her.”
Feek said he and Rebecca initially suspected stomach problems. The situation changed in an instant when Indiana collapsed after walking back to her bedroom.
“I won’t go into the minute-by-moment details that led us to call 911. We both held her in our arms, literally crying for help. But let’s just say that Rebecca and I have never been as scared in our lives as we were on Thursday morning,” Feek wrote. “I can’t even think, let alone write…but we thought we had lost her.”
Indiana was first taken to a hospital in Waco, Texas, but doctors determined she needed specialized treatment in Austin. She was taken by helicopter and Feek followed her in a truck.
“They gave us time to pray for Indi and kiss her and Rebecca goodbye, and then the helicopter took off and began the 30-minute flight back to Dell Children’s Medical Center. During that time, I drove there in my truck because there wasn’t enough room for everyone,” Feek continued.
Doctors soon discovered that Indiana had a dangerous buildup of fluid around her heart, preventing it from pumping properly, requiring emergency surgery.
“They said it wasn’t something we did or didn’t do…but this happens sometimes, and the inflammation from the surgery starts producing too much fluid, which makes it harder for her heart to pump, she loses her color, she struggles to get oxygen, and her body reacts by vomiting to try to combat the problem,” Feek explained.
Almost two weeks after the first surgery, Indiana returned to surgery.
Doctors removed 610cc of fluid from around her heart and showed her family X-rays that revealed the swelling had grown to about twice its normal size.
This treatment provided immediate symptom relief.
“Doctors believe that Indy is doing well and should make a full recovery, and we hope that he will not have any more problems like this in the future,” Feek added. “And the color returned not only to Indy’s face, but to mom and dad’s faces as well.”
The latest scare comes just weeks after Mr Feek announced that Indiana, who has Down syndrome, would undergo corrective heart surgery due to complications associated with a congenital heart defect.
“In February 2014, just days after Indy was born, after a very complicated appointment with a local doctor, we took her to Nashville to have her heart checked,” Feek wrote at the time. “About half of infants born with Down syndrome have heart problems, and some have it much worse than others.”
According to the National Down Syndrome Association, about half of babies born with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect, some diagnosed before birth and others discovered after birth.
Earlier this month, Feek celebrated Indiana’s successful release from the hospital after her first surgery.
“As we had hoped, we were discharged from the hospital on Monday morning, a moment we were all so looking forward to,” he wrote in a July 3 Substack post. “Dr. Fraser and his team said Indy was in great shape, gave her a big thumbs up, and told us we were free to head north to Waco or go home.”
At the time, the singer acknowledged the emotional toll of the experience while expressing gratitude for her daughter’s recovery.
“It’s been a week and a half since we packed up and headed to Austin, with a fair amount of worry and fear. But the reality is, it hasn’t been nearly as long or as difficult as we expected,” he continued. “And we are very grateful.”
The medical emergency came at a difficult time for Feek and his family.
In addition to Indiana, the country singer is also the father of adult daughters Heidi and Hopey from his first marriage.
Hopey previously revealed publicly that DNA testing revealed that Feek was not her biological father.
Hopey said the discovery strained their relationship, with Feek accused of publicly sharing private family matters, while Feek continued to document aspects of their family life through Substack.
