Bret Baier’s son is on the mend. ET’s Kevin Frazier spoke to the Special report with Bret Baier host following his 16-year-old son Paul’s fifth open-heart surgery, and Bret gave an update on the resilient teenager.
“He’s doing really well. He’s on the mend,” Bret told ET. “He is in a good mood at home and meets all expectations. So his doctors and nurses couldn’t be happier, and of course we’re blessed.”
Paul was born with congenital heart defectsbut has been healthy recently, making the recent surgery a “surprise.”
“He’s six feet tall – almost six feet tall – and I look up to him. He plays on the university golf team. He’s a straight-A student,” Bret said. “It was a surprise. We just didn’t see it coming.”
The surgery became necessary after Paul’s doctor ordered a chest X-ray for unrelated reasons and discovered an aneurysm the size of a golf ball.
“We were very lucky,” Bret said. “This may be divine intervention.”
In fact, as Bret noted, if the aneurysm hadn’t been found, “the thing could have ruptured and been fatal within minutes.” Instead, Paul went under the knife within 12 hours of the discovery.
“I had to tell him… that we were going to have open heart surgery within 12 hours. He said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He looked at me and said, ‘Dad, is this real?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ He swallowed and said, ‘Let’s do it,'” Bret remembers. “He was really stoic in the moment.”
While Bret and his wife Amy waited for Paul to come out of surgery, the couple leaned on each other.
“With each of these operations we always say, ‘We’re one day closer to going home.’ “It’s pretty hard sitting there. It’s excruciating in the waiting rooms,” Bret said. “…My wife says our motto is, ‘Gratitude is the attitude.’ We are truly grateful for where we are.
His 13-year-old brother Daniel was also concerned about Paul’s well-being.
“It was stressful for him,” Bret admitted, noting that after the surgery, “we Zoomed with him three times a day.”
“He’s really happy now,” Bret added of his younger son. “He’s talked to his brother and he’s ready to get going and get back on the golf course.”
Paul is also ready to return to his regular activities, as Bret told ET, “He’s ready to get going. He wants to get back on the golf course… All he cares about is business and getting out of the hospital. Now he’s recovering.”
“He’s in really good spirits,” the proud father added. “He is a fighter. He’s really tough.”
While Paul is on the road to recovery, Bret is grateful for the medical staff at Children’s National Hospital.
“We’re really glad they found it and fixed it,” he said. “…I think it’s really important for everyone to thank the doctors and nurses because they are first class in the world and that’s the reason Paul is alive.”
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