A mother’s quick action and the right care team saved an 8 year old

In late January, Yolanda Hampton noticed something unusual about her 8-year-old son Asante’s breathing as he slept. It was heavier than normal—enough to make her uneasy. Trusting her instincts, she checked his heart rate and oxygen levels with an oximeter. Everything looked fine, but Yolanda still didn’t like what she was hearing, so she packed her son up and took him to the emergency room at M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital.

“That’s when he started declining,” Yolanda recalled.

What followed was a whirlwind of transfers and tests before Asante arrived at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, where doctors discovered a rare and serious condition: Abernathy malformation. This abnormal blood vessel issue meant Asante’s blood was bypassing his liver and returning directly to his heart, causing severe pulmonary hypertension. The arteries in his lungs had narrowed, forcing his heart to work harder and ultimately leading to right heart failure.

A complex diagnosis, a coordinated response

Asante came under the care of Erin McHugh, MD, MPH, a pediatric pulmonologist and Nathan Rodgers, MD, MHA, a pediatric cardiologist. Both are assistant professors at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Their first challenge was stabilizing Asante’s dangerously high blood pressure so he could undergo surgery to correct the liver vessel issue. That took weeks.

“It was such bad pulmonary hypertension,” Rodgers said. “The pressures were so high within the lung arteries and in the right side of the heart that the right heart failed. It’s really a form of congestive heart failure—not in the sense most people think of it.”

McHugh added, “He was fighting multiple battles. He had this liver malformation, but he was also a pre-term infant with lungs that weren’t 100% healthy. He experienced bleeding from the pressure. He needed complex care coordination, and I’m just glad he’s doing really well now.”

Because pulmonary hypertension is rare in kids, it's often mistaken for asthma due to similar symptoms like wheezing and shortness of breath. But asthma medications don’t work for pulmonary hypertension, so getting an accurate diagnosis and specialized care is critical.

A life-saving surgery

Asante needed his abnormal liver blood vessel repaired at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, home to the only pediatric surgical team in the Twin Cities that does the procedure. The hospital also offers the region’s only combined clinic that treats pediatric pulmonology and cardiology.

Robert Acton, MD, a pediatric surgeon, performed the complex liver procedure. But Asante’s journey was far from over. He began bleeding internally and had to be intubated and sedated for three weeks. Yolanda and Ahmad, Asante's dad, stayed by their son's side through every twist and turn.

“My poor baby was just lying there with all these IVs,” Yolanda said. “For two or three months, we were in the hospital fighting for his life. The pastor came in and prayed over him.”

Eventually, Asante stabilized, and surgeons successfully corrected the malformation. Yolanda remembers the moment he woke up vividly.

“He just looked around like, ‘What’s going on?’ Buddy put me through a lot, but it was just amazing. I was just kissing and hugging him.”

Recovery and resilience

Asante’s recovery is ongoing. He is a regular at the M Health Fairview Pediatrics pulmonology-hypertension clinic that combines care for pulmonology and cardiology in one program. Lung disease and heart disease go hand in hand, so the clinic allows people to see two specialists in one visit.

There, doctors McHugh and Rodgers see kids with complex cardiac disease and pulmonary hypertension, often stemming from pre-term births or genetic conditions. 

Today, Asante is thriving. His doctors are slowly reducing his medication. 

Asante is playful, gaining strength, and starting to communicate more. He loves watching videos, playing games on phones, and recently got dancing bear toys that light up. He turns off the lights in his room and lets them have a dance party, Yolanda said.

Yolanda, Ahmad, and their older son, age 10, leaned on their extended family and church community, including Yolanda’s aunt who is a pastor, for prayer and emotional support. 

Yolanda credits the hospital staff for helping her through the weeks she spent in the hospital with Asante.

“They made me feel so warm,” she said. “I’m so thankful.”