Local baby fighting for her life after being born with severe heart defect

POCATELLO — A local baby born with a severe, life-threatening heart defect has a long road ahead of her that includes multiple open heart surgeries.

Lauren Price, of Pocatello, was 24 weeks pregnant when an anatomy scan revealed her baby’s heart looked abnormal. She was sent to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and learned that her daughter has Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

HLHS is a heart defect where the left side of the heart doesn’t develop fully and is too small, so it can’t pump blood well. As a result, the right side of the heart must pump blood to the lungs and to the rest of the body.

Price delivered her daughter, Auzzy, at the University of Utah Hospital on Feb. 26, 2026, at 39 weeks.

“They took her to the NICU (right after she was born),” Price told EastIdahoNews.com. “I wasn’t able to see her until the next day because they wanted me to recover. … She was in the NICU for eight days.”

On March 6, Auzzy underwent her first open-heart surgery (this was the first surgery of a series of three reconstructive operations Auzzy will need) known as the “Norwood procedure.”

Price explained the operation reroutes the blood flow so the heart can pump blood to the body using the right side of the heart instead of the left side. She said it also creates a new pathway for blood to get to the lungs for oxygen.

“It went really well. There was really no complications until they went to pull the pacing wires a few days later,” Price explained. “Usually nothing happens when they pull the pacing wires but there’s always a chance you might poke a hole (in the heart) and that’s exactly what happened.”

A few hours after surgery, Auzzy’s stats dropped and she was put on an ECMO machine for three days. ECMO is a type of artificial life support that can help if someone’s lungs and heart aren’t functioning correctly. This process continuously pumps blood out of the person’s body and sends it through a series of devices that add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. The machine then pumps the blood back into the person’s body.

To fix the hole from when the pacing wires were pulled, Auzzy had to have another open-heart surgery. Last week, she also had what Price described as “a surface-level surgery” to remove a lump that developed above her incision. She’s since been discharged from the hospital.

Auzzy, who is almost three months old, will have another open-heart surgery called the “Glenn operation” at the beginning of July. Price explained this surgery takes some of the “used” blue blood coming back from the upper body and sends it straight to the lungs instead of making the heart pump it there. Price said this means that Auzzy’s heart won’t have to work as hard and blood flow becomes more efficient.

“We’re kind of in the interstage right now which is very high-risk because of her condition,” Price said as they await the July surgery.

Down the road, between the ages of two and four years old, Price said her daughter will undergo the third required open-heart surgery called the “Fontan procedure.” This operation sends the rest of the “used” blue blood from the lower body directly to the lungs without going through the heart first, according to Price.

“These surgeries don’t repair the heart back to normal,” Price explained. “Instead, they reroute blood flow so the body can function with the heart it has.”

Price was a nail tech but quit working soon after she found out about her daughter’s condition. Her husband, Saxton Price, is the sole provider for their family. Price said they are working on getting Auzzy on Medicaid but a GoFundMe has also been set up to help the family with the costs associated with Auzzy’s care. To donate, click here.

“It’s been a blessing in disguise. Of course, I would never want her to go through any of this but it’s been great getting to know these people (in similar situations),” Price said. “These babies are so resilient. The community is amazing.”