Please help baby Oliver - Help Oliver's Heart (Debate)
| Mark Aspinall |
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Thu 29 Jun 2017, 09:28 THE STORY On the 31st of January 2017, Oliver was born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Within minutes of birth Oliver had difficulty breathing. Oliver was rushed to the neo-natal intensive care unit where a number of scans and tests were carried out. It was discovered that Oliver had a large mass within the wall of his heart and further diagnostics were needed. On day two of his life he was transferred to Southampton General Hospital. Once at Southampton General Hospital Oliver suffered two episodes of Ventricular Tachycardia and immediately needed to be sedated and shocked to bring his heart back into a normal rythme. It was discovered that Oliver has a Cardiac Fibroma in the left ventrical wall of the heart. This means that he has a mass in the left side of his heart, which is larger than his heart itself. This type of tumour places Oliver at risk of his heart arythmias which are life threatening. Oliver suffered his third Ventricular Tachycardia on the 27th February 2017 where once again he was sedated and shocked back into rhythm. A heart breaking experience for any parent to witness. As this type of tumour is extremely rare the NHS have only seen a couple of cases. Unfortunately, the NHS are therefore unable to offer Oliver the operation to remove the tumour as they do not have the expertise in his condition. Having researched Oliver's Fibroma, his parents found a number of cases had been reported in America, mainly at Boston Childrens Hospital. A study revealed between 1990 and 2013, 20 children presented with this condition and all underwent surgery. All 20 patients survived the surgical removal of the tumour and were Ventricular tachycardia free following surgery. As the NHS is unable to offer this to Oliver, his parents are desperate to raise sufficient funds to take him to Boston for this life saving treatment so that this little man can have the chance of a long and happy life. |