My son Milo was born with a heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a combination of four different heart defects. We first discovered there was a problem at the 20 week scan and we were referred to Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital. During the pregnancy we had multiple scans and appointments at BCH to ensure baby was ok and to monitor the defects in his heart. The team there were amazing. We were so fortunate that his condition was stable and we were allowed to deliver at our local hospital, where he was quickly rushed to ICU and monitored closely. He was a super strong little baby and we were able to go home after just 5 days.

Over the next few months he was monitored closely (twice a week!) and at 10 months old his oxygen levels were just 74% and so he underwent open heart surgery at BCH. He was in surgery for 6 long hours, during which time his heart was stopped for 26 minutes and a machine took over whilst surgeons worked on the most critical parts of his heart. Amazingly, he was only in hospital for 5 days and was soon back home smiling, with 100% oxygen levels.

During his first post-surgery check-up, the consultant discovered another problem with Milo’s heart, a severe narrowing of his Pulmonary Arteries. Not long after, he had keyhole surgery to try and widen them. Although this surgery helped and bought Milo a little more time, they couldn’t widen the arteries enough for long term benefits. Milo is now almost 3 years old and we are waiting on what will likely be more open heart surgery to widen his arteries further. He will also require more surgery for his Tetralogy of Fallot when he is a teenager. All of this will be done at BCH.

I don’t think my husband and I will ever be able to do enough for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, but this is one small way that we can give something back. I originally designed This is Your Story for Milo whilst I was pregnant and so it seems only right that a portion of the profits are passed onto the hospital that saved his life, without whom this story might be very different.

Click here to order This is Your Story for yourself or for a gift.