The ‘life-saver’ that could kill Ashton, aged 7
Family agony over heart pump failure
IT was a revolutionary device that was supposed to keep a young schoolboy alive.
But now doctors have warned the heart pump fitted to seven-year-old Ashton Hutcheson could kill him.
As he awaits a replacement or a heart transplant, he is banned from playing football or trampolining because a sudden jolt or blow could prove fatal.
Ashton, from Aberdeen, made medical history in January 2014 when he was fitted with the device after being diagnosed with the rare condition dilated cardiomyopathy, which usually only affects adults. He was given just 24 hours to live but clung on till the device was inserted in a complex eighthour operation.
The HeartWare pump plugs directly into the mains and keeps the organ working but it failed a year ago because of blood clots.
Ashton’s weak heart began beating again but experts say it is too dangerous to remove the device and have warned his mother Shanna a single knock could kill him. The boy was only three when the machine was fitted at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital. He became only the second child in the world to use the pump, which saw him attached to the mains at home or in hospital – and powered by a battery pack when outdoors.
When it failed, a team of specialist doctors was flown in from the United States to try to fix it. When they could not do so, they decided to switch off the machine – and were amazed when his weak heart began to beat again.
Surgeons later wanted to remove the pump but have now told the boy’s mother, Shanna, that the procedure is too dangerous.
She said: ‘The pump is heavy and could damage his heart. One nasty bump could kill him. He is not allowed on a bouncy castle or to jump on his trampoline.
‘He cannot play football and that was Ashton’s biggest love. He had been having coaching sessions with Aberdeen FC.
‘He dreamed of playing for the Dons when he grew up. He used to live for the weekends when he could watch them. But he still manages to be cheerful and smile.’
Ashton, a pupil at Bramble Brae School in Aberdeen, has another clot in his heart. It is getting smaller but his mother does not know if it will disappear completely. She says doctors have decided to leave the pump inside him, partially because it will make it easier to install a replacement when his heart fails again.
But she lives in hope that a suitable donor heart will become available before then.
She explained: ‘When the doctors switched off the pump, they didn’t think his heart would beat again by itself. It is a miracle that happened.
‘We have to wait until we get rid of this blood clot and then Ashton has to have the right match. The organ has to come from someone aged about ten and they have to share his rare blood group, O rhesus negative.
‘Ashton was at the top of the transplant list for months but other children were getting transplants before him because they found the right match.
‘He is not at the top right now because his heart is beating for itself and he is at home.
‘We just have to live in the hope that everything works out for him.’