Young Boy Perseveres After Multiple Heart Surgeries and Strokes

Resilient and full of hope is how Adrienne Mueller describes her 8-year-old son, Geno. Watching him play basketball and chase after his older brothers, it’s hard to believe he’s endured two open-heart surgeries and survived two strokes.

“Even after going through so much, his defaults are still joy and curiosity,” says Adrienne, who was 20 weeks pregnant when she and her husband, Bo, learned their unborn son had a severe congenital heart condition. His chances of survival after birth? Ten percent or less.

“There was a high likelihood he would pass away in utero and be stillborn. We talked to our priest about baptism options. We had prepared ourselves for the worst outcome, but hoped for the best,” says Adrienne of Avon Lake, Ohio.

Adrienne was at a routine checkup with her obstetrician when the ultrasound revealed Geno had complete heart block and hydrops fetalis, a serious condition that causes abnormal fluid buildup in multiple areas of the fetus’s body, leading to severe swelling. Doctors found Geno’s heart rate was in the 50-beats-per-minute range when it should have been 120 to 130.

“When the rate is that slow, the heart muscle has to work harder to provide enough blood circulation, and that leads to breathing issues and other issues,” says Cleveland Clinic Children’s pediatric heart function and transplant cardiologist Gerard Boyle, MD.

Adrienne and Geno were closely monitored until he reached 29 weeks’ gestation. That’s when the care team determined it was safest for Geno to be delivered by C-section. After birth, he spent five months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Cleveland Clinic Children’s on main campus, in Cleveland, Ohio, where specialists worked to stabilize his condition. To help regulate his heartbeat, Geno had his first surgery to implant his pacemaker at 3 months old. A few months later, he was able to come home but required a feeding tube and oxygen support for some time.

“After we'd been home for a while, we were discovering new challenges, and Geno was ultimately admitted to the hospital again. It was determined he was in heart failure as a result of mitral valve dysfunction,” says Adrienne.

Geno was 7 months old at the time, and his care team was able to manage his condition with medications until he was about 3 years old. It was at this point Geno required his first open-heart surgery to repair his mitral valve, which was performed by Hani Najm, MD, a pediatric and congenital heart surgeon at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. The surgery was successful. Because of his complex heart condition, Geno was already at higher risk for stroke, something seen more often in children who have congenital heart conditions. His first stroke occurred about 12 days later.

“Geno’s first stroke affected the left side of his body, so we had to address some left-sided weakness,” says Adrienne.

After recovering from the stroke, Geno required a second mitral valve repair at 7 years old.

“Dr. Najm and team anticipated needing to replace Geno’s mitral valve with a mechanical one, but they worked a miracle and were able to successfully repair and keep his own valve,” says Adrienne. “This is important because his valve will grow as he grows, making it more likely he’ll need fewer procedures as he gets older.”

Geno’s heart stabilized from here, and he was able to return to activities like swimming with his brothers. However, during one of those pool days in June 2025, Geno started having trouble walking and talking – he was having his second stroke. “My husband recognized the signs and quickly called 911,” says Adrienne.

At the hospital, Geno received clot-busting medicine and ultimately underwent a thrombectomy to remove the blood clot that caused his stroke, which was performed by Cleveland Clinic neurosurgeon M. Shazam Hussain, MD. Following his recovery in the hospital, Geno promptly began speech, physical and occupational therapy. Geno’s second stroke impacted his speech and caused right-sided weakness, but he’s recovered well.

“Time is brain when it comes to stroke because around 1.9 million brain cells are lost every minute that goes by. And because Geno’s family acted so quickly, he got the appropriate care in time and has almost no deficits remaining,” says Geno’s pediatric stroke neurologist Kriti Bhayana, MD. That’s why she says it’s important to remember the acronym BE FAST, which stands for balance, eyes, face, arms, speech and time.

“If someone suddenly experiences balance problems, vision changes, facial drooping on one side, weakness in an arm or leg, or slurred speech – it’s important to call 911 right away. While we’re generally good at spotting these symptoms in adults, it’s crucial to remember that – even though strokes are rarer in children – they can happen, especially in kids with complex congenital heart conditions or a family history of clotting disorders, and among other signs, these signs apply to them, too,” says Dr. Bhayana.

As far as Geno’s care moving forward, he’ll continue to be closely monitored and remain on medications to keep his heart stable and minimize his risk of another stroke.

“From birth until now, Geno has required so many different specialists, and there’s not a resource we’ve needed that we haven’t been able to get through Cleveland Clinic,” says Adrienne, who, along with her family, has traveled each year to Washington, D.C., for Family Advocacy Day There, families speak to lawmakers about the importance of strengthening and protecting healthcare for children. “Since our access to care for Geno has been transformative for us, we feel passionate about doing anything we can to help others experience the same.”

After overcoming so much medically, Geno, now in the second grade, still embraces a challenge and confidently says math is his favorite subject. He looks forward to more travel adventures with his family and being able to simply have friends over for some fun.

“A lot of people have worked hard over a very long period of time to preserve Geno’s life, and they’ve also recognized our goal of letting him truly enjoy it. Because of their efforts, Geno is able to experience everything he wants for the most part with very few limitations,” says Adrienne.

“Even though I’ve been through some tough things, I’ve just kept going. Facing and getting through hard times makes you that much stronger and braver,” says Geno.