Baby boy who needs £116k op to remove tumour in his heart
With his bright eyes and cheeky smile, little Michael looks like any other happy ten-month-old.
But in fact he suffers from an incredibly rare heart tumour – and is forced to live in discomfort with a pacemaker in his body.
Now Michael’s family has launched a desperate bid to raise £120,000 to send him to the US for surgery that could improve, or even cure, his condition.
Michael was just 14 weeks old when he woke up gasping for air after suffering a cardiac arrest.
he was rushed to hospital and put into an induced coma where doctors warned parents Stuart and Emma Labuschagne he would likely never wake up.
But, against the odds, Michael opened his eyes after doctors reduced his sedation, and a scan revealed he had not suffered any brain damage as a result of the trauma.
Mr and Mrs Labuschagne were told their son had a cardiac fibroma attached to the septum in the left chamber of his heart – a tumour so rare only a handful of patients have ever been diagnosed with the condition.
No long-term solution was offered to Michael on the NhS, but his parents, from Bristol, found a hospital in Boston in the US which can remove the tumour. they now hope to raise £116,000 within six months to pay for the surgery. Mother-ofthree Mrs Labuschagne, 27, said: ‘ At 14 weeks and three days old, he went to bed like any other baby. But at 5am he had suffered heart failure.
‘ Words cannot begin to describe the pain we felt in that moment. We watched our baby breathless, gasping for air while his heart stopped and paramedics worked to save his life.
‘he survived an out of hospital cardiac arrest, which only 7 per cent of patients do.’
Michael was fitted with a pacemaker, which means his movement is restricted and he cannot yet sit up or support his head.
the NhS has argued the pacemaker is sufficient to help his condition – but Mr s Labuschagne, a shop worker, fears Michael’s heart could fail at any moment. She explained the NhS does, in some circumstances, pay for the procedure but will not in her son’s case.
She said: ‘[the pacemaker] does hold him back. it’s as big as the size of the palm of my hand and it has sharp edges. ‘Putting that inside a baby is quite uncomfortable for them. But he is amazing. You wouldn’t know looking at him that he is fighting this.
‘he’s a lovely little baby. it’s hard to believe he’s going through what he is. he’s a miracle.’
But she added: ‘ Every day is an unknown until we can get his fibroma removed.’
Mrs Labuschagne has now set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise money for Michael’s surgery. She said: ‘Boston Children’s hospital, ranked number one paediatric hospital in the world, has quoted us $147,000 which converts to approximately £116,000 for the procedure and we will need to pay for flights and accommodation.
‘the cardiac surgeons at Boston are the best cardiac surgeons in the world and they have done this operation several times.
‘they are confident they can drastically improve or even cure his condition by resecting the tumour.
‘they want to operate within six months as his heart will be a good size. the fundraiser is doing really well so far, but it’s still quite early days.’