Story
Our Story
Our son, Damian Anthony Christie, was due on December 28, 2020, but was born unexpectedly early on December 1, 2020.
We had found out during pregnancy that Damian would have a rare congenital heart defect, and would need surgery in the first few weeks of life. As Damian was born early, and small for his age, his chances of surviving open heart surgery dropped to 50/50, but without the surgery, his chance of survival was zero. Even if there was a 1% chance, we wanted to take it.
Damian had his operation when he was 10 days old. Unfortunately, he went into cardiac arrest shortly afterwards and although doctors were initially able to resuscitate him, his little heart couldn’t quite get going again on its own, and his other organs started to fail, too. Damian passed away on December 14, 2020. Although we are so happy we got to meet and spend 13 days with Damian (along with 9 months getting to know him grow), in many ways it also exaggerates our loss. We had so many hopes and dreams for him.
What are we trying to do?
We hope to do two things in Damian’s memory:
1. Raise money for the Hong Kong Children’s Heart Foundation. Damian is still our son, and still very much part of our lives. We think Damian would like to raise awareness of congenital heart defects (CHDs) and help other children with heart problems. CHDs are very common, affecting nearly 1 in 100 babies – but often these are so minor they are not noticed, and don't cause any issues or symptoms. Many heart defects are not even picked up until adulthood. The Hong Kong Children's Heart Foundation funds research into CHDs, and also sponsors the cost of heart-related equipment for families that need it.
The approximate costs of the cardiac medical equipment are:
1. Heart valve – HK$22,000
2. Cardiac catheterization – HK$20,000
3. Pacemaker and ICD – HK$55,000
4. Automated External Defibrillator (AED) – HK$15,000
5. Percutaneous Pulmonary Valve Implantation Project – HK$221,000 (This is a safer, less invasive alternative to open heart surgery for some types of heart defects)
Our target is £2,000 because a replacement heart valve is something Damian would have needed himself later in life.
2. Get more people to donate blood. Shortly before surgery, we discovered Damian had quite an uncommon blood type (A negative). We didn't know this is uncommon, but only around 8% of people are A negative, and it is even less common in Asia. The hospital authority had to pool all of their resources across Hong Kong for Damian, and we were very fortunate that they were able to get enough at short notice.
Blood shortages are not just an issue in Hong Kong – globally, many regular donors have also stopped giving because of COVID-19, but blood banks are still open and safe to visit (even during lockdowns) in nearly every country around the world. Giving blood is a simple, free and sustainable action that could literally save someone’s life. If you are able to donate blood, feel free to send us a photo of yourself – it would bring us comfort to put together a collage of all the people that Damian's life touched. If you want to do this, you can send a photo via WhatsApp (Lucy +852 5920 5067) (Eamon +852 5920 5081) or email lucychristie16@gmail.com.
Lots of people have asked us about how they can help. We know not everyone is able to donate money or blood for many reasons, but if you can even share this page with a few friends that would also be a great way to raise awareness.
Thanks,
Lucy, Eamon and Damian
