Published: February 23, 2026
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Cheyenne Copeland, R.N., has always trusted her instincts. As a registered nurse at Norton King’s Daughter’s Health, she pays attention to every minor detail for the patients she cares for at the hospital in Madison, Indiana. So when her inner voice kept nagging her that something might be off during her pregnancy, she took note — even though every appointment seemed to go fine.
“Throughout the whole pregnancy, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of mother’s intuition, but I kind of felt something was wrong, but I never said anything because everything was going OK,” Cheyenne said.Although doctors mentioned her baby was measuring a little small, it was easy to brush off as normal variation — until the 32-week appointment. During an ultrasound, doctors found that her baby, Dane, had an issue with his heart.
Cheyenne was referred to Norton Children’s Maternal Fetal-Medicine, part of Norton Women’s Care, where a team of specialists monitored the rest of her pregnancy and came up with a comprehensive plan for delivery. On Oct. 6, 2025, baby Dane was born at Norton Hospital in Louisville with a room full of specialists on hand ready to help.
Dane was “born with good lungs!” and was loud, Cheyenne said.She was able to hold her baby for only a brief moment before he was taken straight to the Norton Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit .
After more detailed imaging, providers learned Dane’s full diagnosis: Shone’s complex, a rare congenital heart condition affecting several structures on the left side of the heart.
Rather than a single defect, Shone’s complex is a combination of abnormalities that can vary from child to child. In Dane’s case, doctors found several areas where key valves and blood vessels were underdeveloped or narrowed.
His condition included a hypoplastic parachute mitral valve with a supramitral ring, a hypoplastic bicuspid aortic valve with severe stenosis, and a hypoplastic aorta with long-segment coarctation.
In simple terms, parts of Dane’s heart and major blood vessels were too small or too tight, making it difficult for oxygen-rich blood to move from his heart to the rest of his body.
Due to the severity of the blockages, doctors explained that Dane would need open-heart surgery. Reconstructing part of his heart would give him the best chance at a healthy life.
At exactly 1 week old, Dane underwent Stage 1 of the Norwood procedure, a complex and high-risk, multistage open heart surgery that reconstructs the heart and helps restore heart function.The surgery started at 7:30 in the morning, took several hours, and was successfully performed by Bahaaldin Alsoufi, M.D., director of pediatric cardiac surgery at Norton Children’s Heart Institute, with assistance from pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Deborah J., Kozik, D.O..“The first 48 hours post-Norwood are the most critical,” Cheyenne said. “They said Dane had very minimal interventions during that period, so they were really surprised by that.”
Dane’s recovery continued in the Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, where he became known for his big personality.“He does not like being alone, and loves attention,” Cheyenne said. “He loves to be held. He smiles a lot. When he’s got attention on him, he is definitely all smiles.”
As part of the three-stage Norwood procedure, Dane will need more open heart surgeries during his first few years, plus lifelong monitoring. While every child’s prognosis is different, the family remains hopeful. Dane’s surgeons opted for the Norwood because they believe it gives him the best chance of good health as he grows.
“We are hopeful that he will live a happy, healthy, long life,” Cheyenne said.
The Norton Children’s team has been “nothing short of amazing,” providing regular updates when the family was away from the hospital and at home with their young daughter. According to Cheyenne, they checked out any concerns she raised and cared for Dane “like they would [for] their own.”
Child life specialists helped entertain Dane’s 5-year-old sister during hospital visits, and social workers connected the family with resources, including support groups made up of other families on similar journeys with their children’s health.
For Cheyenne, who has worked as a medical assistant, emergency room technician and emergency department nurse before joining Norton King’s Daughters’ Health, this experience with her own child has transformed her perspective as a nurse.While her medical background helps her ask informed questions and understand Dane’s care, she now understands what it’s like for family members going through stressful and scary health crises with their loved ones.
“Now I really know what it’s like to be on the opposite side of the bed,” she said. “I’ve never had a family member really in the hospital, let alone one of my children, and so it’s really given me a new perspective and deeper connection to patients.”