A Warm Welcome to Paul, Our New Partnerships Manager
A Warm Welcome to Paul, Our New Partnerships Manager
Paul brings both professional expertise and personal experience to his role at Children’s Hearts UK. As a parent of a child with a heart condition, his personal experience gives him unique insight into families’ heart journeys.
Isaac Story
“When my son Isaac was born in the early hours of a Thursday morning, everything seemed normal. We had recently moved from London to Leicester and were busy settling into life with our two-year-old daughter, Immy.
The pregnancy had been straightforward, and the birth itself was calm and uneventful. Louise went into labour at around 10pm on Wednesday evening, and Isaac arrived just before 1am the next morning. It should have been the beginning of life as a family of four.
But that feeling didn’t last.
A midwife at the birthing unit in Melton Mowbray noticed that Isaac was struggling. He wasn’t feeding properly and was clearly unwell. After being transferred back to Leicester Royal Infirmary for further investigations, we were told that he had Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA), a serious congenital heart defect where the major arteries connected to the heart are reversed.
An Unexpected Diagnosis
The diagnosis came as a complete shock.
During the pregnancy, the scan where the TGA may have been detected had unfortunately been missed because of our move. One moment we were celebrating the arrival of our baby boy; the next, we were trying to get our heads around the fact that he had a life-threatening medical emergency.
When the specialist from the cardiac unit arrived to carry out the initial procedure needed to help oxygen move properly around his body, he sat us down to explain what needed to happen. He laid out the situation very bluntly and told us, “Your choices are, you don’t have any.” I signed the medical consent form, and Isaac was wheeled away for the procedure.
The next morning, Isaac was transferred to the cardiac unit at Glenfield Hospital for specialist care. Seeing him for the first time surrounded by tubes, wires and monitors in intensive care felt surreal.
It was terrifying. One minute you’re imagining taking your baby home, and the next you’re standing in ICU trying to understand medical terminology you’ve never heard before.
While Louise was recovering physically from childbirth, we were both trying to process the emotional trauma unfolding around us. Our daughter Immy also struggled with the sudden disruption, becoming quiet and withdrawn as we tried to balance hospital life with maintaining some sense of normality for her.
The Road to Surgery
For six long days, we waited for Isaac’s open-heart surgery.
Each day followed the same exhausting routine: taking Immy to nursery, spending the day at the hospital with Isaac and Louise, then returning home in the evening before starting again the next morning.
It became an unpleasant routine, but a routine, nonetheless. You just keep your head down and keep going.
During those first days, even bonding with Isaac was limited. Initially, the only physical contact we had with our son was changing his nappy.
When surgery day finally arrived, Isaac was just six days old.
The whole morning felt surreal. The waiting seemed to last forever, and then suddenly it was over.
Thankfully, Isaac responded incredibly well to the surgery. There were no hidden complications, and his recovery was swift enough for him to leave intensive care sooner than expected.
The weeks afterwards were filled with recovery, waiting, and one overwhelming desire, for us all to finally be together again at home.
Today, Isaac is a thriving 13-year-old boy.
He’s fit, well and just a normal teenager. Unless you know him, or you see his scar, you’d have no idea what he’s been through.”
