She was merely five days old when baby Scarlett underwent her first heart surgery. But nine months later, little Scarlett is not only healthy she is ready to live a wonderful life.
When Kelly McPherson was 17 weeks pregnant, she had a fever and realized that something might be wrong with the baby. An ultrasound revealed her fears were right. Her unborn baby had swelling around the heart, lungs and abdominal cavity because of excessive fluid deposition. Doctors later said it was because of a rare complication from common human parvovirus.
Kirsty Taylor and Peter Dalgarno were warned that their newborn son would die if he did not have a surgery. But they were also told that he could die even during the surgery. Baby Liam had a heart the size of a football and today, thanks to expert medical care, he is well on the road to recovery.
When Ashley Cardenas was 16 weeks pregnant, doctors asked her to make the most difficult decision of her life. Her baby was suffering from a rare heart condition that mostly turns fatal and Ashley was given a choice to terminate the pregnancy or continue on with it. Ashley chose the latter and says that the best decision she could have made to save her child.
Baby Rheya’s chances of survival appeared to be dim after doctors found had three rare heart defects shortly after she was born. Thankfully, doctors were able to perform a keyhole surgery that bought them time for a bigger surgery down the road.
When Riley’s parents refused to abort him at 21 weeks of pregnancy, they knew that their boy was not going to have the same path as other children. Their baby was probably the only child in the world with 6 major heart defects and doctors said that he might not survive. But the little fighter proved the doctors wrong by making a staggering recovery in spite of all his heart defects.
Little Jaya Maharaj had barely opened her eyes to see the world when doctors whisked her to the operating room to fit her for a pacemaker. At 15 minutes old, she became one of the smallest recipients for her ailing heart.
Baby Toby was just 22 hours old when he was whisked into the operation theatre for a heart surgery. Determined to give her unborn child a chance, his mother had earlier refused to terminate the pregnancy when doctors told her that he had a life-threatening heart condition.
Cui Chenxi was a child heartlessly abandoned by three different families and left on the streets before he was finally picked by a loving family in China. The new adoptive parents though soon discovered that the baby boy suffered from a congenital heart condition and instead of disowning him, they spend all their life’s savings to save the baby.
When Lucy Elkins was just 20 weeks pregnant it was revealed that her baby had a heart problem and might not survive. But by becoming the youngest recipient of a pacemaker, her son King proved the predictions wrong and showed he was willing to fight each day to grow stronger.
Baby Audrey MacIvor appeared to be a healthy baby until tests revealed something was not right with her heart. The baby needed a heart transplant immediately and seeing her struggle to survive each day, doctors took the radical decision of buying time for her by giving a Berlin heart.
Niamh Taylor was born with a condition that affects one in 15 million babies. With only half a heart and a rare genetic condition, the baby girl’s life was saved by doctors at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Two months ago when baby Kaleb was born via c-section his mother Terry-Lynn Plummer could not wait to cuddle her baby. But the mother received the shock of her life when the baby stopped moving and medics discovered that he had suffered a heart attack resulting in heart failure. Miraculously the child survived post a rare heart transplant surgery at Stollery Children’s Hospital.
