SerpApi.Org
The country singer previously revealed his 12-year-old daughter had to be life-flighted back to the hospital following her open-heart surgery
NEED TO KNOW
- Rory Feek shared that his daughter Indiana is recovering well after her eight-day hospitalization and is back home
- Indy, who has Down syndrome, underwent open-heart surgery due to a congenital heart defect diagnosed after her birth
- Feek’s estranged daughters have criticized him for sharing Indy’s health journey publicly
Rory Feek is sharing a positive update in his daughter’s health journey.
On Saturday, July 18, the country star, 61, posted an update on his Substack about his 12-year-old daughter Indiana’s health following her recent eight-day hospitalization. In the blog post, Feek shared that he and his wife Rebecca were finally able to welcome Indiana — whom they call “Indy” — home after she was cleared by doctors.
“Yesterday afternoon, eight days after going back to the children’s hospital in Austin. we finally got word that Indy was free and clear to come home,” he began his post. “I think they kept her for even longer than they’d planned, just to be extra confident we wouldn’t find ourselves back there anytime soon.”
Feek then shared a little bit about how the family spent their first few hours at home. While he and Rebecca unpacked, the 12-year-old opened some more letters and cards she received during her hospital stay.
“Honestly, the outpouring of love from everyone - some we know and most we’ll probably never met - that we’ve received in the last few weeks, has been absolutely humbling for our whole family,” he wrote, noting that they then took a nice walk after she came home to talk about the last few weeks.
“PS: Indy’s doing amazing and looking and feeling better than ever. Pretty much completely her old self. And although she’s excited about getting back to sleeping in her big girl bedroom…for the next few nights, Mama’s not taking any chances,” he continued. “She’s sleeping in a bed at the foot of ours.”
In June, Feek shared that his daughter Indiana, who has Down syndrome, would be undergoing open-heart surgery due to complications from a congenital heart defect.
“In February 2014, just a few days after Indy was born, after a very troubling appointment with a local doctor, we took Indiana to Nashville to have her heart checked out,” Feek wrote at the time. “They say that about half of all little ones born with Down syndrome have heart issues. And some are much worse than others.”
According to the National Down Syndrome Society, about half of all infants born with Down syndrome have a heart condition. Some can show symptoms at birth, and some can be diagnosed in utero.
In a post on his Substack from Saturday, July 11, Feek shared that just two weeks after Indiana was discharged, she was life-flighted to a hospital in what Feek described as a near-death experience. Doctors discovered fluid had built up around her heart, requiring emergency surgery to drain 610 ccs of fluid.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The news of Indy’s return home comes after Feek’s estranged daughters Heidi and Hopie Feek spoke out against the singer’s social media posts about their sister. The pair have not seen their sister Indiana in more than two years amid an ongoing dispute with their country singer father over the child’s care.
Heidi, 39, shared a video to her Instagram Stories following her dad’s July 11 post about Indy’s near-death experience on his Substack that took aim at her father for the “ongoing exploitation” of her sister, which she said “makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.”
“Yesterday my father posted a Substack post where he detailed how she essentially almost died, according to him. And while I’m glad that she’s doing better and that she’s okay, according to him in that Substack post, I am upset that I found out on Instagram,” she said in the July 12 video. “I am still upset because of the ongoing exploitation of my little sister on his monetized Substack account.”
Heidi said that Indiana’s surgeries and ongoing recovery are “vulnerable moments” for the child, who is unable to give consent to the use of her story and photos. She also called out Rory for including a link to his song “Thank You Lord” at the end of his post.
“That’s not a moment to be taking photos, that’s not a moment to be blogging about, and it’s not a moment to be self-promoting or promoting your organization performing your song,” she said. “It all makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.”
Read the original article on People
