GEORGETOWN, Ohio — A little girl in Brown County, Ohio, recently received a new heart after being on the path to a transplant since she was first diagnosed with a heart defect.

Nyla Smith is a six-year-old girl from Brown County who was born with a critical congenital heart defect. Congenital heart defects are diagnosed based on heart conditions at or shortly after a child’s birth.

According to Nyla’s Journey Facebook page, she was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome shortly after birth. HLHS is a condition that affects a number of structures on the left side of the heart that has not fully developed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typically, the right side of the heart pumps oxygen-poor blood to the lungs and the left side pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. There are also two openings between the sides of the heart that normally close a few days after birth, according to the CDC.

In a baby with HLHS, the left side of the heart does not pump oxygen-rich blood to the body. Oxygen-rich blood bypasses the left side of the heart and goes to the lungs during the first days of life, according to the CDC.

When the openings are present, babies with HLHS might not have difficulties in the first few days of life. Once the openings have closed, it is difficult for oxygen-rich blood to be distributed throughout the body.

Symptoms usually present themselves once the openings have closed. These can include difficulty breathing, pounding heart, weak pulse, and bluish skin color, according to the CDC.

The CDC estimates 1,025 babies are born with HLHS every year. Some babies get the condition through changes in genetics or chromosomes. It is also believed to be caused by environmental factors or what the mother has ingested during pregnancy. In most cases, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of HLHS.

Babies with HLHS must go through three surgeries to restore heart functions. The surgeries are the Norwood Procedure, Bi-directional Glenn Stunt Procedure, and the Fontan Procedure. Typically, these are all done within three years.

Nyla had the Norwood Procedure done at six days old, the Bi-directional Glenn Stunt Procedure at four months old, and the Fontan Procedure at three years old, according to Nyla’s Journey.

Between the surgeries, Nyla had multiple heart catheter procedures and echo-cardiograms, bedside tests to determine the amount of oxygen in a baby’s blood. Posts and updates were given on Nyla’s Journey each time these occurred.

In February, Nyla’s doctors told her family that her antibody levels needed to be at 10 percent before her body would accept a new heart. Her antibody level was at 75 percent at the time.

To prepare to receive a new heart, though one had not yet been accepted, Nyla had to go through desensitization therapy. Her first intravenous immune globulin infusion was in late January, according to Nyla’s Journey. The process takes seven weeks to complete.

Over the past weekend, Nyla’s family received the news that a new heart had been accepted for her transplant. The next day, she was placed on a bypass machine (taking over the function of her heart and lungs during surgery).

Nyla was in surgery for 12 hours, according to Nyla’s Journey. She was extubated the next day, meaning the ventilatory support was removed from her body.

“I was shocked. I cried, a lot. I couldn’t believe Nyla had a donor,” said Jamie Pritchett, Nyla’s mother. “It just doesn’t feel real.” Pritchett continued to focus on her disbelief and shock when she first heard that a new heart had been accepted for Nyla.

Pritchett said that Nyla will continue to have heart catheters, and biopsies, and take “a lot” of new medications. Pritchett also said that Nyla will have to live at the Ronald McDonald’s House in Cincinnati for at least three months after her transplant.

Nyla will likely be in the hospital for another week or two to make sure her body does not reject the new heart, according to Pritchett.

Nyla’s family has continuously expressed sincere gratitude to the donor’s family and all who helped raise money for the transplant. They are excited to take Nyla home after her recovery, according to Nyla’s Journey.

“I’m so thankful for the donor’s family. My heart goes out to them,” said Pritchett. She also said she is unable to be in contact with the donor’s family for 12 months.

For more information on Nyla’s condition, visit https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/hlhs.html.