Bret Baier Shares Son Paul’s Recovery After Emergency Heart Surgery at 16
Bret Baier’s 16-year-old son Paul recovered after emergency open-heart surgery: How is he now?
The teen athlete son of Bret Beier had a golf ball-sized aneurysm removed following a 10-hour treatment.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier’s account of the traumatic path leading up to his teenage son’s emergency open heart surgery was absolutely heartbreaking.
Following what started out as a typical cold, a potentially lethal diagnosis was made.
When physicians in Washington, D.C., discovered a golf-ball-sized aneurysm that was about to burst, his 16-year-old son Paul Baier, a standout player on the varsity tennis and golf teams, underwent his fifth open heart surgery last year.
“I’m so grateful to have my life,” Paul stated in an exclusive interview with People. A lot may change in five hours.
A Common Cold That Changed Everything
The family, who lived in Palm Beach and Washington, initially thought Paul had a normal cold or rhinovirus. However, because Paul had a history of cardiac problems, his mother Amy insisted on further testing when a chest X-ray showed something strange.
“The X-ray revealed something close to the lungs,” Amy recalled. “We sent it to his cardiologist just to be safe.”
That caution most likely saved Paul’s life.
While returning to Washington for what they believed to be a normal check-up, Brett and Paul were surprised to discover that the tumor was a hazardous aneurysm related to Paul’s heart, which required major surgery and an MRI within a day.
“If it burst, it could have been fatal in minutes,” said a visibly disturbed Bret, recalling the incident.
Even after hearing the terrible news, Paul remained calm. “All right, let’s do what we have to do,” he told his father.
The night before the surgery, the father and son went to the golf course, where they shared a bittersweet moment when Paul beat his father with a birdie on the final hole. The next morning, he was carried into a grueling 10-hour operation.
“Gratitude is the attitude.”
The physicians believed it would be Paul’s last procedure, and it went smoothly.
Bret subsequently posted a heartwarming photo of Paul smiling at Children’s National Hospital, coupled with a photo of the baby taken just a few days following his initial heart surgery.
Paul is currently recuperating at home, and he has six weeks to relax and recuperate, focusing on eating healthily and going for regular walks, before he is permitted to take up a tennis racquet or golf club again.
The maxim “it’s important to be thankful for everything you have, every second of every day” is a guiding principle for Paul’s family.
“Gratitude is the attitude, as we say in the Baier family,” Amy added. Paul informed us as much.
One year following the treatment, how does Paul feel now?
Even though Paul was born with five congenital heart abnormalities and has undergone more than a dozen operations, his resilience and positive outlook are already inspiring those outside of Fox News.
Online admirers have praised the Baier family for sharing their experience, calling Paul a “real-life warrior” and reminding them to always get a second opinion, even if the symptoms don’t appear serious.
As of May 2025, Fox News host Bret Baier’s son Paul Baier has not gotten any fresh public updates since his emergency open-heart surgery in 2024.
Paul had his fifth open heart surgery at the age of sixteen to repair a possibly lethal aneurysm. It is anticipated that he would recover well.
Paul’s resilience and positive outlook have served as an inspiration to his family.
His mother, Amy Baier, emphasized the need of being vigilant about health concerns, pointing out that Paul’s aneurysm was found despite the absence of cardiac symptoms.
