On the 10th July 2013, Edward David Nash was born at 3:04pm, with AVSD (Atrioventricular septal defect). This condition had been picked up prenatally, so we knew what was to come. Edward often had cold hands and feet and a very pale complexion due to poorly oxygenated blood being pumped around his body. He would also struggle to feed, becoming so breathless and tired. He was put onto high-calorie milk to help him grow and gain weight in preparation for his surgery.
At four and a half months old, weighing 10lb, Edward was admitted to the Royal Brompton Hospital Children’s Cardiac Unit, ready for his planned heart surgery. After a seven-hour operation, we could finally see Edward in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). He was almost unrecognizable, as so many tubes and wires were on him. Edward proved how strong he was as just 48 hours after the surgery, his ventilator was removed, and over the next two days, the wires and tubes were removed one by one.
Four Days after the surgery, Edward was moved onto Rose Ward, where despite his obvious discomfort, he still managed to smile at the nurses. Edward recovered very quickly but did suffer a set-back when he caught a blood infection, resulting in a few extra days’ stay in hospital for antibiotic treatment. Ten days after having AVSD repair, Eddie was allowed to go home, which put a smile on his face, as well as ours, just in time to start opening his advent calendar!