Harper’s heart defects were found antenatally. Though her heart was so complex, she went into heart failure at just five weeks old. Read Harper’s story, told by mum, Chloe:
(The photos in this story were taken by and belong to the author, depicting their family’s personal journey.)
At our 20-week anomaly scan, the sonographer had difficulty seeing the four chambers of Harper’s heart. We got told it was most likely due to her positioning and not to worry. We made another appointment for two weeks later, hoping it may be easier to see at the following scan.
Unfortunately, the reason the four chambers were unable to be seen was due to Harper’s numerous heart defects. She was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries (TGA), double outlet right ventricle (DORV), subpulmonary stenosis, and a very large VSD, which extended to the base of her heart. Harper also had a small ASD, but this was the least concerning defect.
Due to the complexity of Harper’s heart, the doctors had a 3D model created after her birth to allow them to explore surgery options. Harper’s surgeon was adamant she required surgery as soon as possible as she was so poorly and already in heart failure at five weeks old. However, he was unable to perform the surgery without great risk to Harper’s life, as the arteries would be stretched too thin after the arterial switch operation to allow sufficient blood flow.
At five weeks old, Harper was discharged home on diuretics to manage her heart failure so her heart could grow enough, ready for surgery.
When Harper reached four months old, she was readmitted for her surgery. Harper spent 13 hours in the theatre and came out looking like a different baby. Although swollen, she was also pink! We had never seen her so pink as she was always pale and had blue extremities. It was amazing!
Harper is now thriving, although she still has some minor issues with her heart that may require future intervention. We are so grateful to the sonographer who detected Harper’s defects and the team that cared for her from that point forward. Her surgeon is a real-life angel, and we will forever be in debt to him for saving our baby’s life.
You must be logged in to post a comment.