CALL FOR PRAYERS: Baby Gabriel Now in Critical Condition After Heart Surgery

Surrogate McKenna West's baby in critical condition after heart surgery https://t.co/xNvWC4Tobj pic.twitter.com/QMHmQE7hNA

— New York Post (@nypost) August 25, 2026

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According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, the biological parents who are battling McKenna over custody of the boy, claim the newborn they call “Rumi” underwent a complex open-heart surgery called the Norwood Procedure.

They say in the last 24 hours, “Serious medical developments have arisen that impact the health and safety of the child. The child is in critical condition and being closely monitored at the hospital.”
The parents claim the child appears to be “suffering from potential complications from the Norwood, and last night, the child’s condition declined significantly, requiring re-intubation.”

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McKenna West, a 28-year-old cardiac nurse from Alaska, agreed to serve as a surrogate for California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed. In April, when she was 20 weeks pregnant, a routine ultrasound showed the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped.

The couple ordered her to kill Gabriel in an abortion. West refused.

“No woman should be forced to kill the baby inside her. Most importantly, every child deserves a chance to live,” West wrote.

As a cardiac nurse, she knew the child “had a great shot at survival if given the opportunity to receive the necessary treatment.”

“To treat a baby with HLHS, surgeons perform a staged repair, beginning with the Norwood procedure shortly after birth, followed by two more surgeries. This medical treatment gives children a high chance of going on to live full lives,” she explained.

After West declined to endhis life, the couple cut off payments and their lawyers threatened six-figure penalties. They later sued her in Alaska seeking at least $100,000.

“The threats eventually became real,” West wrote. “But no threat or amount of money could sway my conviction that this baby had a real chance at a full life, and I could not participate in killing him and depriving him of that opportunity.”

West moved with her two children to Texas and chose a hospital with a 100 percent survival rate for the Norwood procedure. She gave birth on August 12 and named the boy Gabriel. The biological parents call him Rumi.

The infant underwent the Norwood procedure earlier this week.

“I’m eternally grateful that the Texas family court and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered that the baby boy I carried must receive the necessary surgery,” West wrote.

West has said her fight centers on ensuring the child receives the care he needs.

“This is about giving an innocent child a shot at the life he deserves,” she wrote. “I’m not fighting to try to take someone else’s baby. I’m fighting because this baby boy needs someone willing to advocate for and fight alongside him as he gets the ongoing treatment his fragile heart requires.”

“Every life matters. No woman should be forced to end the life of the baby she is carrying — including me … Baby Gabriel should receive a chance at life,” West declared.

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