'Braveheart' - Open Heart Surgery at 6yrs old

Hi all.

Christian was born in November 2017, after 3 years of trying everything to have a baby. We stopped trying after exhausting all options apart from IVF. We figured that if the universe wanted us to have a baby it would happen naturally.

Well, we fell pregnant not long after we stopped trying. This was the greatest news for both of us as parents. We could have a baby of our own, together. We both already had kids from previous relationships and we wanted one of our own together.

When we found out at our 20-week scan that he would be born with Congenital Heart Disease we were devastated.

He has:

CCTGA- Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries.

Full heart block.

Dextrocardia.

2 leaky valves.

Hypertrophy of the ventricles.

We were told from that 20-week scan that he would most likely need open heart surgery as soon as he was born.

As soon as he was born he went to mum for a very short time then straight into a Humidicrib and taken straight to the NICU ward. He stayed in that Humidicrib for 4 VERY LONG days with us both taking turns sleeping on the fold-out chair/couch next to him. We could not hold him for that entire time - that was heartbreaking. He was hooked up to all sorts of tubes and monitors (as seen in the cover photo). All we could do was put a hand through the little window and touch him in places where there were no monitors and wires attached.

He was placed on a watch and act - which meant he did NOT need surgery straight away and we could take him home with us. He was then scheduled every few months to have Halter monitors put on, Echocardiograms done, and general heart check-ups. This was pushed out to every 6 months and kept on a watch and act until it got bad enough for the hospital to want to act.

Fast forward to Feb 2024 - he had a Holter monitor put on the Monday and returned to the Heart Hospital on Tuesday. Now we usually don't hear from the hospital for 2-3 weeks to schedule an appointment for his results. We received a phone call the very next day saying they needed to see us straight away. Wednesday afternoon we go in and see the head of the Heart Team at Monash Children's Hospital and she informs us that it is time for surgery. Christian needs an Open Heart Surgery to have a Pacemaker installed. This requires around a week in ICU then 4-6 weeks off school to recover.

Now, we are not usually people who ask for help and we usually just figure life out as it keeps on keeping on. However, this year has been the worst year of our lives.

27th of December 2023 - our house was broken into and both of our cars were stolen, Dad's wallet was full of the kid's Christmas money, and Christian's wallet with all of his Birthday and Christmas money in it.

Dad's car has been replaced under insurance - this was just a headache as I drove the car for my full-time job.

Mum's car was recovered the next day and insurance STILL has the car, 'waiting on repairs'.

We had to hire a car in the interim so Mum could get around - which we could no longer afford and had to return it. So we are trying to get by with one car.

Mum also needs knee surgery within the same time frame that Christian is having his Open heart surgery. So she will be out of work for a few weeks also.

The donations will be used mainly to pay for everything related to the surgeries and recovery, Christian was saving up his money to buy a Playstation 5 - before we knew about him needing the surgery. So I would love to get him one of those to play during his recovery.

Thank you for reading all of this and just know that it took a LOT for me to create this and every single dollar is GREATLY appreciated by us and Christian.