We were told Billy would not make it

Becky Hopkin’s son Billy was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) at his 20-week scan. Becky, 30, from Bicester in Oxfordshire, who’s married to James, says: While we were devastated to be told our baby had TGA, I know now we’re among the lucky ones as the ultrasound technicians had undergone training a week before my scan. This condition is only picked up in a third of cases, so most babies with TGA are sent home undiagnosed, meaning their chances of survival are slim.

After being referred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, my pregnancy became a whirlwind of appointments and scans before Billy was born on May 9, 2016. I had the briefest of cuddles before they took him off to stabilise him and start him on lifesaving medicine.

At seven days he was taken to theatre and a 4-5 hour surgery turned into 13 hours when his heart failed to start twice after he was taken off the bypass machine. We were told bluntly he wasn’t going to make it.

But two hours later we were told he’d miraculously rallied. We saw him for the first time surrounded by doctors and nurses, with an ECMO machine – similar to a heart-lung bypass machine – set up beside him ‘just in case’. It was the longest and scariest night of my life.

Billy’s chest was left open for seven days because of the swelling. Seeing him lying there so helpless and not being able to hold him or comfort him was terrible.

After nine very long days I got my first cuddle and you’ve never seen a happier woman! The next day he was taken back to the high dependency unit.

We left hospital when he was one month and a day and haven’t looked back!