When Sarah Oliveri was in her second trimester, she and her husband Michael received devastating news—their unborn baby had a rare heart condition called a heart block. This meant his heart’s electrical signals weren’t working properly, putting his life at risk.
“[The doctors] told us it was serious, and there was some fear that we could potentially lose him,” Sarah shared with CBS News. But she and her husband never lost faith. “From the very beginning, we believed that he was going to be OK.”
And thanks to a team of quick-thinking doctors, they were right.
When baby Michael was born on December 5, he weighed just 5.5 pounds—too small for even the tiniest pediatric pacemakers available, like Micra, which is the size of a vitamin and weighs about the same as a penny.
But his medical team refused to give up. They filed for emergency approval to use an adapted version of the device, designed to fit his tiny heart. Then, in a groundbreaking 75-minute surgery, they successfully implanted the world’s smallest pacemaker with just one small incision.
After weeks of recovery, baby Michael hit a huge milestone in early January—he got to go home to his two big brothers. Now, he’s thriving.
“He’s doing really well,” Sarah said. “He’s doing great.”
This incredible medical achievement is not only a victory for Michael and his family but also a breakthrough for future babies born with similar heart conditions.
