Baby dies after mom moves to Houston to give him chance at life

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Corpus Christi baby born with half of a heart here in Houston has passed away.

ABC13 first told you about Alexis Rivera, who moved to Houston temporarily to have her baby at Texas Children's Hospital.

At the time, her unborn child, Juan Manuel Rivera Jr., was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in the womb.

ORIGINAL STORY: Corpus Christi mother hopes Houston hospital can help her unborn baby who has a half a heart

She moved to Houston to have the baby, hoping he could have a life-saving surgery.

Juan Jr. was born in early April, but after about a week, Alexis said that doctors at Texas Children's Hospital determined surgery was not an option. They said his little heart was too complex and he would suffer more with surgery.

Right now, the family is asking for prayers in their GoFundMe and working to plan a funeral.

According to the CDC, the cause of this heart defect in babies is unknown. It estimates that each year, one in every 3,841 babies is born in the U.S. with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

For news updates, follow Mayra Moreno on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.