By Jo James

Alfie is my third child and we found out at our 20 week anomaly scan that Alfie was going to be poorly.   Nothing prepares you for that and the journey that follows. I developed pre-eclampsia which added to his complications and he needed to be delivered by Cesarean-Section.  He was born on the 11th of August 2010 weighing just 3lb 9oz.   My world seemed to spiral into an abyss that I didn’t know how to control.  He had in utero growth restriction (IUGR) and he was so swollen when he was born.  It was unsure if he had HLHS or COA, lucky for our little man he had the less devastating of the two; although all heart defects are devastating this one was easier to digest.  He also had a small left ventricle but not enough to be hypoplastic, a PDA which essentially helped to keep him alive and his heart axis sits slightly wrong.

After a week at the Evelina it was decided that they needed to operate,  he only weighed 3lb and my husband and I where so scared, for Alfie, the future and what impact this could have on our other two children, but the surgeons where fantastic and Alfie was doing well, it was decided after two more weeks at the Evelina that Alfie would be transferred to our local hospital the William Harvey to establish feeding as he was still so tiny.

Alfie is two years old now now, lively , happy and just perfect.   Regular scans and paediatric appointments keep him well looked after.