Fort St. John five-year-old’s heart complications prompt month-long hospital stay as family continue search for answers

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The mother of a Fort St. John boy living with a heart defect says she is still searching for answers after months of frightening symptoms and repeated hospital visits.

In a statement to Energeticcity.ca, McKayla Ingram said her five-year-old son, Kayzen, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped, has been unable to do anything active for the past few months without experiencing complications.

“Kayzen had his last open heart surgery in October of 2024, and since September, hasn’t been able to do anything remotely active without his oxygen crashing dangerously low,” Ingram said. 

“He turns blue, struggles to breathe and it’s been terrifying to watch.”

According to Ingram, she brought her son to the Fort St. John Hospital emergency room several times, but each visit left her without clear answers.

After what she described as “the 100th call,” Ingram pushed for cardiology to see him again. The initial plan was to have Kayzen assessed locally, but the next day, she said the cardiologist called back with urgent instructions.

“They needed Kayzen in Vancouver that Monday morning, no waiting, no delays,” she said.

The pair travelled to BC Children’s Hospital in November, where they stayed for nearly a month. 

Kayzen underwent a series of tests, assessments and a heart procedure. But after weeks in hospital, Ingram said they were again sent home earlier this month without clear answers, only another major increase to one of his heart medications.

“[It’s] the highest dose he’s ever been on, we’re hoping it helps,” she said. 

“If it doesn’t, the plan is to bring him back within the next month or two for another heart procedure that should fix the underlying issue, but it carries a lot of risks.”

Doctors are trying to avoid that surgery unless absolutely necessary.

“For now, we’re stuck waiting,” Ingram said. “No real change in his health yet, and still not many answers. Just hoping something shifts in the right direction soon.”

Kayzen was previously airlifted to Vancouver after complications from a scheduled surgery in October 2024. He was diagnosed with a collapsed lung, which led to a chest tube insertion and weeks of recovery.

A GoFundMe campaign launched last year to support the family during long stays in Vancouver is still active and has raised $10,190 of its $14,000 goal.

Local business owner Tammy Hordy of the Flower Hut also organized a fundraiser last year to support the Ingrams.