Jennifer Flavin and Sylvester Stallone welcomed their first daughter, Sophia Rose Stallone, in 1996. The arrival of Sophia was a transformative experience for Stallone, who told People, "I feel like I've been reborn." Everyone from Flavin's mother to the obstetrician who delivered Sophia commented on the story, with the latter telling the outlet, "They seemed to bond well."
Mere months later, however, Sophia was back in the hospital to undergo surgery for a hole in her heart. By the time she was a teenager, she needed to return for a follow-up procedure. She told a magazine called Paris Match (via Hello!), "Every day I think of my heart. I eat really healthy, and as I get more tired than [is] normal, I have to be very careful when doing sports." The procedure went well, and Sophia later opened up about the experience on a 2023 episode of "The Family Stallone." In footage shared by Access Hollywood, she reflected, "It was really scary having to go from living this normal life when I was 16, to having to have my chest sawed open." In a confessional, Sophia said that that moment changed her outlook on life: "I never had to consider death before."
The situation hit her family hard, too. "Dad couldn't even talk to me without like, crying about it," Sophia remembered. The two discussed her lingering PTSD on the show as her father marveled, "She was so brave."
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