'Please pray': YouTuber's four-month-daughter undergoes heart surgery

Phil and Alex Congelliere with baby Cassidy.
Phil and Alex Congelliere with baby Cassidy. Photo: Instagram

Phil and Alex Congelliere's baby girl has undergone open heart surgery, with the anxious parents updating fans hourly on her condition.

The couple, known for their YouTube channel, posted photos of four-month-old Cassidy Drew before she went into surgery, asking people to keep little Cassidy their prayers. Their daughter has the same congenital heart defect as her dad, which they discovered while Alex was still pregnant.

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"It's time. Before they rolled you into your open heart surgery, while our tears and our prayers were flowing non-stop, your little heart was bursting with joy," Phil wrote on Instagram.

"Thank you for your smiles and your new sound of laughter. You go get fixed little buddy. Daddy loves you."

"Last little view of Cassidy's precious chest. Today her heart gets a fresh start," wrote Alex, who also shares daughters Callie Jo, four, and Kinsley Grace, five, with Phil.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Phil Congelliere (@philconge) on

"Please pray. Cassidy is in the operating room for her open-heart surgery right now."

Alex updated Instagram users hourly on Cassidy's condition, writing that she was placed under anaesthesia at 8.35am, and by 9.35am the surgeon was "working down to her heart and getting her ready for the heart/lung bypass machine."

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She continued in another story saying Cassidy was on the bypass machine by 10.35am, with the surgical team "working on patching the holes in her heart," and again at 12.35pm, saying she had a mitral valve leak that meant she was still on the bypass machine.

The mum-of-three posted a final update at 2.15pm, writing "she's done!"

"They're monitoring her for an hour then taking her to the ICU," the relieved mum said, adding in a post that they hadn't seen her yet but will be able to in a few more hours.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now I understand what the cardiologist was saying all along. “We will know when it’s time for surgery when we have maxed out on our meds.” We still have a little wiggle room to support Cassidy until surgery. But my mama heart is breaking watching her struggle. She is SO strong and a lot of the day she is kicking and smiling. But other times she looks at me with those tired eyes using her effort to breathe harder and faster. I don’t want her to go through surgery, but I’m ready for her to experience life with comfortable breathing. The surgeon is hopeful that she could have a “one and done” surgery...but we will have to see if she gets a leaky valve like her daddy @philconge did. Cassidy, you are SO strong and you have a big team of warriors rooting you on! You’ve got this baby girl.

A post shared by Alex Congelliere (@alexcongelliere) on

The couple have been open about their struggle with infertility, telling PEOPLE  they "never imagined we'd get to experience this," after falling pregnant.

"Every moment of this pregnancy has been a blessing and brought us immense joy, but it is not lost on us that there are so many in our infertility community who still long for their miracle after their seasons of loss."