Dolliboos Hearts

Bertie was born a healthy baby and had all his checks. We went home and a week later he went off his food, cried all morning and by lunch time he was starting to go blue. At this point we were on our way to St Helier Hospital, and as we arrived the Dr took one look at him and ran into Resus with him. He was very quickly assisted with his breathing and after a blood test we were told that he had a coarctation, which is a blockage of the aorta. There was very little blood getting to his vital organs and this had slowly been occurring over the morning. The reason his heart sounded healthy at birth was because when babies are growing in the womb, there is another blood vessel which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. At approximately one week of age, this vessel closes and the aorta takes over the role. As Bertie’s aorta was blocked, his body slowly started to shut down. He was given some medicine which helps the blood vessels to open wider to encourage some circulation, and we were told he had got very sick and might not make it. He got transferred to The Evelina Children’s Hospital by the South Thames Retrieval Unit, which is a mini ITU on wheels. Doctors performed surgery to cut out the blockage and fix the two wider ends together (like a pipe).....and he survived!! Sadly, not all babies who have undiagnosed heart defects make it He had further surgery as a baby because the aorta started to close again. He still suffers some effects of the heart condition and will always need to be monitored by specialists. Further surgery may be required but we will know that as he grows up. He is a happy 6 year old now! I made it my business to become more heart healthy and try to give something back to those who have helped us. Over the past 6 years, thanks to our generous family and friends we have raised £5000 for The Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and are now hoping to raise some money for the South Thames Retrieval Unit.

Now Bertie and his mates are doing their bit! They are taking part in Tough Mudders Lidl Mudder next Sunday and raising money to give a little back!

Thank you for reading our page, thank you for donating #hearthealthy ❤️