‘THINGS THEY DO TO HELP CHILDREN LIKE PATRICK IS INCREDIBLE’
LEAH MacDonald, whose fiveyear-old son, Patrick Gillespie, has been a patient of EMCHC since 2016, said she is looking forward to seeing the new facility.
Doctors discovered Patrick had a number of complex heart conditions, including a large hole in his heart, after he was born nine weeks early, at just 2lb and 13 oz.
He had his first operation at just three months old and has gone on to have three more.
His mum Leah said she was “forever grateful” to the “brilliant” consultants and staff.
“The things they can do to help children like Patrick is incredible - it was amazing the way they could help him,” she said.
Leah lived in Corby when Patrick was born but later moved to Leicester to be closer to the heart unit. “I knew this was the best place for him,” she said.
In his first few months, Leah said
Patrick was extremely unwell and she watched him struggle through numerous treatments. “Before he was born, I was told he might not be life-compatible,” she said. “But today, he’s such an intelligent, lovely little boy.”
Throughout her journey, Leah said she met other mums who were also going through the difficulty of seeing their child severely unwell.
“It really did show the work that they do at the unit - they really aren’t praised enough.
“My boy wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for them,” she said.
Patrick is expected to receive lifelong care at the EMCHC and although Leah said she does not know what the future holds for him, she knows he is in the “best hands”.
“I wasn’t always this positive - it has been a really hard journey but if Patrick can wake up every day and be the resilient and bubbly little boy that he is, then why can’t I be?”