‘Sister Wives’ Maddie Brown Brush Reveals Baby Daughter Underwent Amputation Surgery

In an update on her daughter’s health, Maddie Brown Brush revealed that 1-year-old Evangalynn had her foot amputated, but said she’s ‘recovering beautifully’ while sharing a picture of the brave baby girl.

Evangalynn Kodi Brush “received some major gifts for her 1st birthday,” wrote Maddie Brown Brush, 24, in an Aug. 24 Instagram post. In the picture, the Sister Wives star holds her baby girl, who has one leg and one hand bandaged up. Evie’s “surgeon laid the groundwork for her new foot and mobility it will bring, by way of a boyd amputation,” explained Maddie. “Another[surgery] gave her some extra mobility in her hand, by clipping her webbing she had in her right hand. She is home and is recovering beautifully.”

A boyd amputation is a surgical technique that “provides a more solid stump because it preserves the function of the plantar heel pad,” according to PubMed.gov. This means that Evie will have more solid of a weight-bearing surface when she’s outfitted with a foot prosthetic, ensuring that she grows up like any other happy, beautiful baby girl.

Maddie and husband Caleb Brush, 32, revealed in Oct. 2019 that their daughter was born with a range of health issues. She was diagnoses with fibular aplasia, tibial campomelia, and oligosyndactyly (FATCO) syndrome. The latter is “a rare medical syndrome where bones in extremities do not fully develop,” said Maddie. It also was why their baby was born missing three fingers, a toe, and her fibula (aka her calf bone.)

At first, the couple didn’t want to reveal these details about their baby, since the Internet is full of “mean jokes” and cyberbullying.”This is one of the hardest things that Caleb and I have gone through and the decision to share almost as difficult,” she said, “but after a lot of consideration, we realized that it’s the best thing for our daughter and there is a chance it may help other parents who may also be struggling.” During the chat, the TLC stars spoke about how they were made “aware of some abnormalities” before Evie was born.

“We knew something was wrong when we went in for a routine anatomy ultrasound at 26 weeks and what should have taken 45 minutes, ended up lasting a nerve-wracking two hours,” Maddie wrote. “It was then that the doctor told us that they couldn’t find all ten fingers and diagnosed the baby with oligodactyly (fewer than 10 fingers). Although this was better than expected, it was still heartbreaking news.” Evie is “healthy in every other way aside from the missing bones,” added Maddie. “As a family, we have decided to be open as we walk through this journey. We want Evie to always feel pride in who she is and all that God gave her!”

Maddie and Caleb tied the knot in 2016, and their wedding was aired as a Sister Wives special. Maddie is not involved in a polygamist relationship – her association with the show is through her mother, Janelle Brown, who is the second wife of Kody Brown. In addition to Evie, Caleb and Maddie are parents to 3-year-old Axel James.