Two West Monkseaton youngsters get heart transplants

Mar 14 2009 by Helen Rae, The Journal

Just weeks ago, both Ellen and Patrick’s lives hung in the balance, as both were placed on the heart transplant register.

Ellen was born with a series of complications meaning her arteries were the wrong way round and she had two holes in her heart.

Patrick was diagnosed with leukaemia in July, after parents Kevin and Devon took him to their GP, concerned about his bad chest. Things were looking up as the youngster bravely fought the illness and was placed in remission in early December.

But less than a week before Christmas, a reaction to one of his chemotherapy drugs caused his heart to fail and he was placed on a double “Berlin Heart” on Boxing Day.

The artificial organ, which operates from outside the body, kept Patrick alive as he was also placed on the transplant register.

The youngsters’ plight brought Kevin, 28, and Devon, 25, together with Ellen’s parents Stefanie, 30, and Ian, 34, with both families facing nervous waits of up to a six months for replacement hearts.

As they got to know each other during visits to the Freeman, it emerged they all live within streets of each other and had registered Patrick and Ellen with the same primary school. On the morning of March 9, Stefanie and Ian got the call they had dreamed of, informing them an organ had been found for Ellen, who had previously had seven major operations, including three open-heart procedures.

As they rushed to hospital, their thoughts were with Kevin and Devon but amazingly, just hours later, they received a call to say Patrick was also set to go under the knife.

Now, thanks to the skill of the surgeons at the Freeman, both Ellen and Patrick are taking tentative steps to a full recovery.

Dr Richard Kirk, a consultant paediatric cardiologist, said: “We transplant about 15 kids a year, which equates to one a month, so it is the first time we have given two youngsters a transplant on the same day.

“It is often very difficult to get an organ for a child as young as Ellen and many children die waiting for a transplant – there is a 50/50 chance a heart will be found.

“Both children have been with us for a long time so it’s nice that they have both been able to have a heart transplant.”

Stefanie, of Appletree Gardens, said: “It’s a dream come true that a donor has been found so quickly. When we got the phone call saying a transplant match had been found we were nervous and excited at the same time.

“We were in shock and couldn’t quite believe it. At first we didn’t realise Patrick was getting a heart transplant and I felt guilty Ellen was having the operation, thinking Patrick’s family were still waiting for an organ.

“It was amazing when we discovered Patrick was having the operation too – it was fantastic news and quite amazing it was on the same day.

“We met Kevin and Devon when both our children were brought in for treatment.

“We got talking and hit it off straight away as we were spending all day, every day together. We couldn’t believe that we just lived a few streets away. It’s been great that we’ve been able to support one another through the whole thing.”

Structural engineer Kevin, of Paignton Avenue, said: “We got the call at 6.30am to say there was a possible donor and we had to come in because they can only keep it for four hours. It was just out of the blue.

“The tests said it was a match and they went ahead. Then we heard Ellen was in the next room and they had found a heart for her too and we couldn’t believe it. We are just so pleased for them.”

Stefanie and Ian are looking forward to getting Ellen back home with siblings Danielle, 11, and Oliver, eight. They would like to say a huge thank-you to all the staff at the Freeman Hospital for their help and support.

When a transplant is found you are conscious of other parents wondering why a match is not available for their child