Sam & Natasha's Story: 

Congenital Heart Defects is one of the most common types of birth defect, affecting 1 in 125 babies in the UK. 3000 newborn - 1 year olds required heart surgery last year.

8th November 2021, we were referred to St Thomas Hospital, London, following our 20 week scan that flagged up a few potential heart problems. Finley was diagnosed with TGA (Transposition of the Great Arteries), VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) and COA (Coarctation of the Aorta) and were told he would need open heart surgery very soon after birth. There were several trips back and forth to St Thomas for regular scans to keep an eye on his development.

Natasha was induced at 39 weeks at St Thomas and on the 21st March Finley arrived where he went straight down to the NICU to be wired up to several monitors and medicines to keep him alive. At 7 days old, he went in for open heart surgery. 7.5 hours later we got the call from the surgeon that thankfully the surgery had been successful and we were able to go see Finley. Over the next 7 days he was gradually weaned off of all the apparatus and drugs that were helping his recovery and on the 5th April we received the news that we could go home.

Finley will receive care and support for the rest of his life from St Thomas and Evelina. Finley will carry the physical scars forever, as will we the mental ones. This is where charities like ECHO come in. They provide support for both the patient and for families. From the moment he was diagnosed, support was offered from ECHO, providing extra information on how Finley's life could be affected and how they could and would support our family through his childhood, teenage years, and the transition to adult care and services.

Ellis, April, Jack & I will be undertaking the 5 Peak Challenge in the Lake District, April 2023, to raise funds to help future research as well as support for any children and families that are going through the same as we and Finley continue to go through.

We also found the best support came from people who could relate, so we also welcome any private messages from anyone who is going through, and has gone through this journey.
natasharudd16@gmail.com