George Kayser Kneip was born on April 14th, 2020 at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, TX, the second child of Mary Catherine and Stephen Kneip of Shreveport, LA. The pregnancy went smoothly until 32 weeks, in utero, when George was diagnosed with a rare condition; congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
George’s diaphragm had a hole in the right side. As a result, many of his internal organs were not positioned properly. Ultimately, the hernia led to severe underdevelopment of George’s right lung, which in turn has caused breathing complications, issues with blood pressure and heart strength. CDH is such a rare condition that Mary Catherine and Stephen relocated to Houston a few weeks later so that they could deliver and receive the best care at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Thanks to the wonderful staff at Texas Children’s, George’s delivery and initial surgeries to close the hernia went well, but at just 2 weeks old, George was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome through genetic testing.

While the two diagnoses are unrelated to each other, Williams Syndrome comes with its own heart issue; small pulmonary arteries and a narrowing of the aortic valve. Thankfully, George has so far defied the odds and has already endured 13 surgeries.

George was discharged from the NICU on December 21st, 2020 after an 8 month hospital stay. George has been doing well at home, and continues to grow and heal. He keeps busy with OT, PT and speech therapy to progress his development.

We are so very grateful for your visit to our site! Our family knows that we are not alone, and as this community grows, we will be donating proceeds to other families affected by CDH & Williams Syndrome.