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FREDDIE’S
STORY

Our journey started at our 20 week scan where Freddie was diagnosed with Left Atrial Isomerism. This brought with it multiple complex heart defects and the possibility of complications with his bowels, liver and lungs.

on day 2, he had been struggling to feed and what he was taking seemed to take a long time to pass through. After a few tests it was clear to see that there was some issues with his bowels and the surgeons took the decision to operate and perform a LADDS procedure to prevent any further more serious complications arising.

The surgery went really well and after 10 days in NICU
Freddie was moved to the nursery where he began to feed and go from strength to strength. On day 15 we were finally able to take him home to enjoy time with him before his heart surgeries began.

On 6^th November at 7 weeks and 1 day old Freddie underwent his 1^st heart operation. Again this surgery went brilliantly and Freddie began to put weight on and we were allowed home 8 days later.

Freddie continued to thrive and grow and impress doctors with his level of energy. He had his second heart surgery 2 days after his second birthday and he absolutely smashed it, he was home just 6 days after surgery running around like a 2 year old boy should be.

Freddie had the final stage of his operations on March 6^th 2020 where he had his Fontan Completion. This again went brilliantly with Freddie up and walking (with the help of the physios) just a
day later. Freddie was back at home 10 days later, although back out to a very different world as Covid 19 had hit. He continued to thrive and never showed us any concerns until the October of that year where he had some pacing issues, thankfully after a short stay in hospital this was sorted and we were back at home.

Roll on a year to October 26^th 2021 and the start of a very scary journey. Freddie took ill and for the first few days in hospital the doctors thought he just had a bad chest infection, unfortunately
this wasn’t the case. On 31^st October Freddie was placed on a
ventilator to help give his lungs time to rest and recover, however after 2 days it was very clear something more serious was going on. The doctors took the decision to place Freddie on to Ecmo, we were told that this was his only chance and came with it a lot of risks. Freddie underwent a bronchoscopy to try to get a closer look as to what was going on with his lungs, it was at this point they discovered that Freddie had thick casts and was diagnosed with Plastic Bronchitis, a rare side effect of the Fontan Completion.

On 12^th November Freddie had emergency surgery to replace his AV valve and fit him with a pacemaker in hope that this would reduce the pressure on his lungs. We were told to prepare ourselves for the worst. However, in true Freddie style he pulled through the surgery against all the odds and 2 days later was able to come off Ecmo.

Freddie faced a long road to recovery but continued to go from strength to strength showing just how determined he was to get better. He even managed to make it home in time for Christmas which was something we never thought would happen.

He continues to impress everyone around him and is the
most loving, caring, boisterous 6 year old boy we all have the pleasure of having in our lives.

KEEPNAC’S
STORY

Keenpac have partnered with Heart Link for our charity fundraising initiative for the last few years and while we always knew it was a great charity to support, when Freddie was taken ill in 2021, it really hit home just how valuable they are.

During the months that Freddie was in hospital, not a day went past without someone in the office asking after Freddie and his family, and we all felt the highs and lows of their journey.  We are proud to support Heartlink and are very grateful for all donations we receive.  Thank you!