"We are going to continue to make steps in the right direction."
UPDATE AT 1:23 PM PT 1/7/23
Cory Wharton gave another update on his daughter's condition following her open heart surgery.
On Friday, the "Ex on the Beach" star took to his Instagram Stories to share that Maya is improving, and has been taken off a ventilator.
In a post that featured a photo of himself feeding his daughter a bottle as she rests in a hospital bed, Wharton wrote, "Maya is off the ventilator. She's no longer intubated. We are going to continue to make steps in the right direction."
He went on to add, "I just wanna say thank you guys, sorry I haven't got all your messages. But trust me prayers were heard🙏."
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW
"Teen Mom" alum and "The Challenge" star Cory Wharton is sharing an update after his 7-month-old daughter, Maya, underwent open heart surgery.
Earlier this week, the 31-year-old reality star took to Instagram to reveal his daughter -- who suffers from a form of congenital heart disease -- was going to have open heart surgery, and asked fans to send prayers for Maya ahead of her procedure.
Teen Mom's Cory Wharton and Taylor Selfridge Welcome Baby Girl, Reveal Heart Disease Diagnosis
View Story"The day is finally here @mayagrace.wharton has her open heart surgery today ❤️," Wharton wrote, alongside a photo of himself and his baby girl, whom he shares with girlfriend Taylor Selfridge. "All I'm asking, is for everybody to keep us in your prayers and keep praying for her & the doctors that will be working on her heart ❤️."
"We have been anticipating this day for so long all the anxiety that has built up for months," he added. "I just can't wait for her heart to be fixed. Then we can move on from this chapter. Again thank you all, & I’ll keep you all updated 🙏🏽"
On Thursday, the "Ex on the Beach" alum posted a video on his Instagram Stories, in which he updated fans on how Maya was doing following her surgery.
"Just hopping on here quick, you guys. I just want to say thank to everyone for all your support, all your messages you guys have been sending," he began.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
"Maya's doing okay, you know, she's not doing great. But they're keeping her sedated right now because her left lung has some fluid in it, and she's having a hard time breathing on her own," Wharton continued. "So I just need that little girl to push out all that fluid in her lungs so then hopefully her vitals start to look normal. But she's on a ventilator right now, she's not breathing on her own and it's just part of the process, you know, we're in good hands. But yeah man, just keep us in your prayers."
He added of Maya, "She's a fighter, warfighter, you know, she's going to make it through."
A couple of hours later, Wharton shared another video to his Stories, showing baby Maya in her hospital bed.
"There she is, man, we love you. You got everyone praying for you, little girl," he said. "We'll get through this, man. We just had a meeting with the doctors and the nursing team. We'll get through this. She's going to make it through, I know she will."
"Just thank you guys and I'll try to keep you guys updated," he continued, adding that he tries "to be as real" as he can with fans. "We got this. She's got this."
Texas Twins Born in Different Years
View StoryWharton and Selfridge welcomed Maya back in June. While announcing the baby's birth at the time, the former revealed the newborn's health battles since coming into the world, sharing that she's been diagnosed with tricuspid atresia, a form of congenital heart disease.
According to Wharton, "this valve plays a part in the heart's essential function, which is to pump blood between the lungs and body."
"Don't really know how to start this off there's sooo much I wanna say, so much I've felt over the past week. As a parent you're, scared, worried, nervous, angry, sad, mad & you don't understand why this is happening to your baby," he wrote on Instagram at the time.
Following her birth, Maya underwent her first open heart surgery, with Wharton and Selfridge revealing at the time that their daughter will require a total of three open heart surgeries.
The couple, who met on "Ex on the Beach," are also parents to 2-year-old daughter Mila. Wharton also shares daughter Ryder, 5, with "Teen Mom" star Cheyenne Floyd.