Hoppy Easter
Baby George finds his voice after vital heart op that was cancelled three times
LITTLE George Tait gets set for Easter as he recovers at home after finally having heart op which was repeatedly delayed
LITTLE George Tait had a right good cry yesterday, and the sound filled the room with happiness.
Before the major heart operation that has transformed his life, 23-week-old George was so poorly he couldn’t cry properly.
But when we visited him, and he got fed up of all the photos we were taking, he soon showed us that his lungs now work just fine.
Just weeks ago, George’s mum Jade and dad Dylan feared they might lose him.
A consultant had told the couple he needed surgery within eight weeks to fix a problem with the structure of his heart.
But after nine weeks – and three cancelled operations – they had to ask the Daily Record to help save their child. On the day we told George’s story, he was given a definite date for his op.
Dylan and Jade had seen George’s health worsen as he waited and were terrified he wouldn’t survive the surgery.
But as soon as Dylan saw him afterwards, he knew it had worked.
The 22-year-old transport policeman said: “He looked 10 times better – even with all the tubes and wires.”
It was the end of a harrowing chapter for the young family from East Kilbride.
George’s potentially fatal heart defect was diagnosed at nine weeks, and doctors gave the eight-week warning.
But the op was cancelled once because there was no intensive care cot for him, then called off again due to an emergency case. Health chiefs say the third cancellation happened because George was too poorly for surgery.
Dylan and make-up artist Jade, 23, had to sit powerless as George deteriorated after the delays.
“It was hard to watch,” Jade said. “He turned grey and was struggling with his feeds. We knew the longer we waited, the worse he would get.
“We were relieved when we got the date, but as it approached we were afraid it would be cancelled again.”
When the day came, Dylan cuddled his son before he was taken away and told him: “You be a good boy now.” He admitted: “I wondered if it would be the last time I would see him.”
Jade stayed with George at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children as he was given the anaesthetic. She said: “I was in floods of tears. I kept worrying: ‘Will he wake up?’” But George sailed through the five-hour op and was home after just six days.
The scar from his chest to his tummy will barely be visible when he’s older. And apart from some minor surgeries to tweak the repair to his heart, he should live a virtually normal life.
It’s a happy ending, and Jade and Dylan can’t thank the medical staff enough. But the pain of their struggle is still with them. Jade said: “I don’t think we should have had to go to the Record to make sure George got his operation. He should have had it the first time.
“And we’re not alone. A lot of people we spoke to at the hospital had experienced operations being cancelled.”
Dylan added: “The consultant who operated on George went straight to another theatre to do an emergency operation on another child. There are just not enough doctors and nurses.”
I was in floods of tears. I kept wondering, will he wake up? MUM JADE