A MUM feels “deceived” by doctors after her “healthy” baby was in fact living with a heart condition that could have killed him.
Katie George, 26, a single mum-of-two, pushed for tests having spotted a symptom while her boy, Cole, breastfed.
Thanks to her instincts, Katie was told by a GP that Cole, now two years old, had a heart murmur at four months old.
He was then diagnosed with pulmonary valve stenosis, a type of congenital heart disease, at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Katie, who lives near Canning Town, east London, lost her dad, who she named Cole after, at the age of 14.
Stacey Solomon says her life a 'mess' as she makes New Year's resolution
He too had a number of heart conditions which helped alert Katie to the signs.
When Katie took Cole home from hospital she noticed he sweated when breastfeeding. He also had a rash, a blue tinge to his lips and a cough.
Katie, who had to see a number of doctors for the diagnosis, says: “I just felt so deceived, I hadn’t even known that my child had this.
“Can you imagine that doctor hadn’t found Cole’s heart murmur? He could be dead.
“No other doctor picked up on it, and she said that murmur would have been there from birth.
“I thought I went home with a healthy baby and he had a heart condition. Can you imagine that wasn’t detected and he actually died?”
Katie was told Cole would need immediate surgery. The complications of severe pulmonary valve stenosis include heart failure.
I just kept thinking, ‘I don’t want him to die’. I’ve only ever had my dad’s experience of a heart condition – and his was traumatising
Katie
She says: “I can’t even describe the feeling of thinking you’ve got a healthy child to (being told), ‘No, they’re going to need life-long cardiac care’.”
She is a now a carer for Cole and her first son Jordan, who was born with the umbilical cord around his neck in November 2017, depriving him of oxygen and resulting in developmental delay.
Amy Childs prepared to get cruelly mum-shamed after big decision about her twins
Jordan, aged six, is “severely disabled”, non-verbal, incontinent, and has a diagnosis of autism and global development delay (GDD).
A life of heart-ache
Compared to the traumatic birth of Jordan, Katie, who is running the London Marathon for British Heart Foundation on April 21, had a “textbook” birth to Cole on March 13 2022.
Katie said: “The doctors kept saying he looks healthy and he’s a healthy boy, he’s a very good weight.
"But had I not kept pushing for them to listen to his chest, he would have ended up dying because I would have had no idea.”
Although Katie said she was told his heart and chest were “all clear” during various check-ups pre and post-birth, she continued to seek answers.
Her father had several heart conditions – ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, and cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart – and he died aged 64.
After getting a diagnosis for Cole, Katie says: “I just couldn’t believe it, but then on top of that, I just thought, what are the odds?
"I named Cole after my dad who had a heart condition and my baby has a heart condition.”
At the third hospital appointment at GOSH, Katie was told Cole would need surgery to correct his heart valve. Without immediate action, he could go into heart failure.
Cole, who was just one at the time, then underwent the balloon angioplasty on July 3 2023, and Katie said she was “bawling (her) eyes out” throughout the surgery.
“I just I wanted to switch places with him, but I couldn’t,” Katie said.
“I just kept thinking, ‘I don’t want him to die’. That’s all I kept thinking because in my head, I’ve only ever had my dad’s experience of a heart condition – and his was traumatising, I’ll never get over it.”
According to the BHF, a congenital heart condition is an abnormality of the heart that develops in the womb.
Around 12 babies are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect each day in the UK.
Thankfully, Cole’s surgery was a success – and after being told the procedure was down to the BHF, Katie said she wanted to run the 2024 TCS London Marathon and raise funds to “give back”.
“I just thought, I’m going to say thank you to the hospital and I’m going to raise money for (the charity) because they saved my little boy’s life,” she said.
“Growing up, I had my dad with heart issues and now I’ve got my son. My whole life has been cardiac conditions… and that’s why it felt right to want to do this.”
To support Katie, donate to her fundraising page here.
