Danny Cussen and Alice Morby were thrilled to welcome son George into the world after a ‘normal’ pregnancy only to find their lives turned upside down
A couple lives were turned upside down when they discovered their newborn son needed a life-saving op to be “replumbed” – as he had a back-to-front heart. Danny Cussen and Alice Morby were thrilled to welcome George Morby into the world on November 20 last year after a “normal” pregnancy and delivery.
But just seconds after George was placed on Alice’s chest, docs whisked him away when they became concerned about his breathing and complexion. Two hours later the 7lb 3oz tot was blue-lighted to another hospital for emergency surgery on his heart, while his stunned parents following behind in a car.
George was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries (TGA), which is commonly dubbed being “plumbed backwards” as the arteries are in the wrong position. The pulmonary artery, which carries blood to the lungs to be oxygenated and the aorta, which carries it to the rest of the body, are the wrong way around.
This causes the blood to move in a circle between the heart and the lungs, starving the rest of the organs of oxygen. The first-time parents endured sleepless nights in a nearby hotel for two weeks fearing their baby was going to die.
But after a gruelling six-hour op at just eight days old to swap his arteries back on November 28, tail lift engineer Danny says George is doing well.
Danny, from Fareham, Hampshire, said: “He was induced a week early but other than that it was a normal sort of birth. Then he was put on Alice’s chest for first initial contact and within a minute or so they realised something wasn’t right.
“He wasn’t getting any colour or breathing properly. Loads of doctors came in and took him away to check him out.
“We were waiting for a couple of hours to see him, then doctors said they needed to take him to Southampton for an emergency procedure on his heart. They took him there and we followed behind them in the car. It was devastating, we honestly thought he was going to die.
“Alice was hysterical, she said to the doctors ‘I don’t want the baby to die, please save him’. “We didn’t sleep for about 56 hours.”
After being born at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandria Hospital, George was transferred to Southampton General Hospital for surgery. The initial procedure made a hole in George’s heart to allow the blood to mix inside, followed by a full arterial switch operation a week later.
Danny said: “We had to wait for hours and hours to see him. He was in intensive care then, so we weren’t allowed to touch him.”
The 36-year-old dad and 30-year-old support worker mum, then faced an agonising week-long wait for George to have major surgery to swap his arteries back. Danny said: “We popped home the other day to grab some clothes and extra bits. We parked up on the driveway and we just looked at each other and cried.
“We just sat in the car crying for 20 minutes. We’d come home without our baby, it wasn’t a nice feeling.”
George underwent the arterial switch operation, which puts the two arteries back to their normal position, on November 27. Once in recovery, Danny says seeing George open his eyes has caused “smiles all round”.
He has now been allowed home but doctors will need to monitor is progress with regular checkups throughout his life, at least until adulthood. Danny said: “Just being able to hold him, to hold his hand – those have been the best moments. Your heart goes hot and your blood goes warm, it feels nice to have him right next to you.
“It’ll be monthly checkups until he’s about two years old, then throughout his life until he’s an adult. But we feel relieved that he’s not going to be left alone, he’ll be monitored and under the best care.”
A fundraiser set up to support the parents while they stay in a hotel near the hospital has raised £1,666 against a target of £1,800, which Danny says has been ‘overwhelming’. Danny said: “We honestly didn’t expect anything, maybe a few donations here and there.
“It’s so overwhelming that people all over the world are willing to give their own money. I’d love to go and hug everyone and shake their hands and say thank you in person. It’s taken a massive weight off our shoulders.”
You can donate to the family’s fundraiser here
What is transposition of the great arteries?
According to the British Heart Foundation TGA is when the pulmonary artery, which carries blood to the lungs to be oxygenated, and the aorta, which carries it to the rest of the body, are the wrong way around. This causes the blood to move in a circle between the heart and the lungs, starving the rest of the organs of oxygen. Just one in 35,000 babies are born with the congenital heart disease and major surgery is required within the first few weeks of birth for the baby to survive.
