Country singer Rory Feek revealed his 12-year-old daughter Indiana is out of the hospital eight days after experiencing complications from open heart surgery.
“Indy’s doing amazing and searching and feeling higher than ever,” Rory, 61, revealed in a Substack blog on Monday, July 20. “Just about completely her old self. And although she’s enthusiastic about getting back to sleeping in her big girl bedroom…for the following few nights, Mama’s not taking any probabilities.”
He clarified, “She’s sleeping in a bed on the foot of ours.”
The musician initially announced on June 22 that he and wife Rebecca Feek were preparing Indiana for surgery to repair a hole in her heart. She was later admitted back to the hospital in July when fluid built up round her heart. (Indy has Down syndrome, which could be linked to heart issues, per the National Down Syndrome Society.)
“We’ve known for the last couple of months that this was on the horizon. This is a component of why we’re here in Texas,” Rory wrote about her surgery in June. “Throughout February and March, we visited a pair of various children’s hospitals across the state and ultimately decided to do it at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin. It’s an incredible facility with a beautiful staff, and Dr. Frasier, who will probably be doing the surgery, is one in every of the perfect pediatric cardiac surgeons on the earth.”
He added, “[We’re] preparing her for something that’s going to be very hard on her. Hard on all of us, especially her Papa, to see her undergo a lot difficulty and pain. But I also know that when it’s done, it’s going to make her life higher.”
Rory had a really positive update on Monday, revealing that Indy was officially released from the hospital eight days after her complications arose. (Rory welcomed Indy along with his late wife and musical partner, Joey Feek. He married his third wife, Rebecca, in 2024.)
“After we got back home here to the little farmhouse we’ve been renting, as Rebecca and I unpacked (thankfully, some folks here had secretly showed up and cleaned up the home, since we had left every part in such a rush last Thursday morning), Indy and her friends went through more of the sweet cards and letters and played some games together in her bedroom,” he wrote. “Truthfully, the outpouring of affection from everyone — some we all know and most we’ll probably never meet — that we’ve received in the previous couple of weeks, has been absolutely humbling for our whole family.”
Indy’s medical issues have reignited a conflict with the Feek family. Amid her hospitalization, Rory’s older daughters, Heidi, 39, and Hopie, 38 — from his first marriage to Tamara Gilmer — criticized their father for publicizing Indy’s surgery.
Heidi and Hopie took legal motion against their dad in the autumn of 2024, claiming that he’d cut them off from contacting Indy due to a family dispute over her care. The case is ongoing, as of publication.
“Yesterday my father posted a Substack post where he detailed how she essentially almost died, in line with him. And while I’m glad that she’s doing higher and that she’s okay, in line with him in that Substack post, I’m upset that I came upon on Instagram,” Heidi said in a vlog on July 12 “I’m still upset due to the continuing exploitation of my little sister on his monetized Substack account.”
She argued that Rory mustn’t be sharing Indy’s “vulnerable moments” for social media content before criticizing him for promoting his song “Thank You Lord” at the tip of his post.
“That’s not a moment to be taking photos, that’s not a moment to be blogging about, and it’s not a moment to be self-promoting or promoting your organization performing your song,” she insisted. “All of it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.”
Rory Feek has responded to threats of legal motion made by his oldest daughters, Heidi and Hopie, who claim that he has placed their 10-year-old sister Indiana Boone in an unsafe situation. Heidi, 38, alleged that her father had been neglectful of Indiana, who has special needs, in an interview with People published on Saturday, […]
Her sister Hopie claimed she and Heidi had not seen Indy in two years due to their disagreements with Rory.
“My beautiful 12 yr old sister was being life flighted to Austin as a consequence of complications after her heart surgery…which someway was the pristine time to stop and take photos!” Hopie alleged. “I see Indy scared and hurt surrounded by strangers being photographed from afar by a parent. In moments like these I’d never stop to think I would like to take photos for my blog and for my fans!”
Rory’s spokesperson declined to comment on Heidi and Hopie’s social media posts when contacted by Us.