Fife mum’s nightmare as baby undergoes heart surgery at two weeks

Sheree Davidson told the Press how little Carter almost died after his oxygen levels crashed and she was told to prepare for the worst.

However today Carter is a happy five-month-old who is thriving and developing normally, and his mum says she is very lucky to have him, thanks to the quick actions of medical staff.

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Carter was born in Victoria Hospital in January and at first seemed perfectly normal and very content.

The family was set to go home and he was being checked over when a doctor noticed that his oxygen levels were unstable. He was taken into the special care unit at the Victoria where he was put on oxygen and given antibiotics, x-rays and a heart monitor.

He began to improve and was being weaned off the oxygen when his levels fell again and he ended up back on a machine giving high pressure oxygen, Carter remained on this while tests were done again.

On February 13 she was called at 4am to get to the hospital as soon as possible as Carter had crashed and was requiring 100 per cent oxygen to keep him alive.

Sheree said: “I was horrified, my baby was lying there not knowing what was happening; he just looked so pale and lifeless. I wanted to take it all away from him so much.

“We were rushed to Glasgow Children’s Hospital under escort by the police, which was terrifying. I thought I was going to lose my baby. The journey was dreadful – so silent, thinking of what could be wrong.

When they arrived a cardiologist told the parents that Carter was to have open heart surgery at just two weeks old after being diagnosed with TAPVD, a rare congenital heart disease.

“We met the surgeon and he said Carter was in a very critical condition and that his chances of survival were very low. He became very unstable during the operation and had to have a blood transfusion.

When she saw him the next day he was covered in tubes, on a ventilator and had numerous wires and drains attached to him.

“I could see where he had undergone his surgery and he was very swollen, but I was just so glad to see that he had made it through the operation.”

Carter was in intensive care for 13 days and made a speedy recovery, despite suffering a collapsed lung.

Sheree explained: “We eventually got him home after three weeks in Glasgow.

“Carter is now five months old and is really bright and doing amazing. We take each day as it comes and I hold him a little tighter. He’s a blessing – a Heart Warrior.

“I can’t believe how close we came to losing him.”