Fox News Anchor Bret Baier’s 16-Year-Old Son Undergoes Emergency Heart Surgery

Fox News host Bret Baier’s 16-year-old son, Paul, is thankful after he recently underwent his fifth open-heart surgery. It all began when Paul developed a common cold in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the family lives when they aren’t in Washington, D.C. His mom, Amy, took him to the doctor as a precautionary measure, reports People.

Due to Paul’s history of heart problems, the doctor recommended a chest X-ray even though she believed he had rhinovirus, which is a common occurrence.  In his lifetime, Paul has faced more than a dozen surgeries due to five congenital heart defects. As a newborn, he had his first open-heart surgery, then three more at 10 months, 6 years and 13 years of age.

“The doctor, Dr. Stein, was very thorough, and before we left, she said, ‘Let’s do a chest X-ray just to be sure everything’s okay,’” Amy told the outlet. X-rays showed what the physician first thought was tissue on Paul’s lungs, so she sent it to his cardiologist in Washington, D.C.

Paul’s cardiologist called a few days later to recommend an MRI. Paul and his dad flew back to Washington for what they thought was going to be a routine appointment. “The MRI comes back, and they sit me down and say, ‘This is a really big deal. This is an aneurysm the size of a golf ball that has formed off of his heart,’” Bret, the Fox News Channel chief political anchor and host of Special Report with Bret Baier, said. “And they didn’t know whether it might burst, but if it did, it might have been fatal in a matter of minutes.”

Doctors advised Paul to undergo open-heart surgery the following morning. Bret told People he broke the news to Paul, who handled it well.

“He thought I was joking at first, then he absorbed it and said, ‘Okay, let’s do what we need to do,’” Bret, 53, said. “He’s always been that warrior, but this was a big one to absorb.”

Bret recalled seeing Paul roll away on the gurney, describing it as “very emotional.” Bret shares a 13-year-old son, Daniel, with Amy, as well. “Then we had a waiting game for about 10 hours, which was excruciating.” The aneurysm was successfully removed, and doctors expect he will not have to endure another open-heart surgery in the future. 

Five days after Paul went home, Bret shared a picture of his son on social media standing in Children’s National Hospital with another image of Paul taken 16 years ago when he was a baby at the same hospital where he underwent his first open-heart surgery.

Currently recuperating at home, Paul will need to follow a healthy diet and take daily walks for about six weeks before he can resume normal activities. According to his mom, Amy, she learned from the experience that it is important to always get a second opinion, even if nothing seems wrong.

“You can never be too sure, especially with cardiac kids. The more you check on things, the better. In this case, Paul didn’t even have any cardiac symptoms. We just got lucky,” she said.

Paul told People his recovery is “going pretty smoothly” and he remains grateful for his doctors’ efforts. He said, “It’s important to be thankful for everything you have, every second of every day. I’m so grateful to have the community I have, and to have my life. A lot can change in a matter of five hours.”

Paul’s generous, upbeat outlook has made an impression on his family. “We have a saying in the Baier family that ‘gratitude is the attitude,’” Amy says. “We learned that from Paul. Because it’s much easier when you focus on all the things you’re grateful for, rather than what is difficult.”