A little boy whose heart
stopped beating for 40minutes made a miracle recovery after a
doctor opened up his chest and pumped the organ by hand.
Joshua Baker, 5, suffered a
huge cardiac arrest just a few days after undergoing a risky
operation to correct a rare heart condition.
Luckily one of his surgeons,
Mr Giles Peek, was passing the room at the time and rushed
in.
Joshua was
admitted to hospital in November after a check-up revealed that the
one functioning side of his heart was working so hard it was likely
to explode
His mother Rebecca, said:
'Straight away, he just opened up Josh's chest and started
massaging his heart.
'Josh was down for 40 minutes
altogether - we were so relieved when he came back.'
However, doctors warned his
parents that even if he survived the night, Joshua would probably
suffer brain damage because his brain had been without oxygen for
so long.
But just a few months after
coming back from the dead, Joshua is now a happy and healthy little
boy.
He is enjoying being back home
in Birmingham, with his parents, Rebecca, 31, and Lee, 29, a
gardener, and sisters, Chloe, 6, and Mia 3.
Mrs Baker said: 'We are
absolutely blown away by Josh's recovery.
'He has been very ill since he
was little, and we have thought so many times that we were going to
lose him.
'Sitting in a hospital and
seeing my little boy's heart stop beating is the most terrifying
thing that has ever happened to me.
'We cannot explain how
grateful we are to the surgeon who saved his life - he is a
wonderful man.
'The whole family is so
grateful to have Joshua back home. It's amazing to see him running around and
playing with his sisters. I feel so lucky.'
Joshua was diagnosed with a
complex congenital heart disease just two weeks after he was
born.
Criticall:
Joshua, pictured in hospital last November, had four major
operations and seven minor procedures by the time he was
two
His parents were devastated
when they were told their son had a hole in his heart - as well the
right side of his heart failing to function, and pumping blood
around his body the wrong way.
He had four major heart
operations and seven minor procedures before he turned two - but in
November 2010, a check up revealed that the one functioning side of
Josh's heart was working so hard it was likely to explode unless he
had a major operation.
However, the surgery to
strengthen his ventricles was so risky that medics warned his
parents there was only a 20 per cent chance he would
survive.
Mrs Baker said: 'We were left
to make an impossible decision. The operation was so dangerous, and
there was so little chance that he would pull through, that I
almost couldn't bring myself to consent to it.
'But I knew that without help,
his heart would give up. I couldn't let him slip away from
us.
'Joshua's a fighter and I know
we had to give him a chance to fight. The operation lasted an agonising 15 hours,
and Josh was critically ill afterwards. It was one of the worst
times of my life.
'His heart was swollen and
bruised from the surgery, and as a mum, all I wanted to do was pick
him up and cuddle him, but I couldn't.'
Joshua survived the operation,
but was kept on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Glenfield
Hospital in Leicester for two weeks.
His condition suddenly
deteriorated after his heart developed a bleed - and he suffered a
massive cardiac arrest.
The full-time mother added:
'We had been by Joshua's bedside constantly since the operation. He
was hooked up to dozens of machines, when suddenly nurses and
doctors started rushing in.
'We were terrified. Everything
happened so quickly we had no idea what was going on, but
obviously, we knew it wasn't good news.
Magic medicine:
Joshua (centre) with his parents Rebecca and Lee and sisters, Chloe
and Mia. His sisters managed to rouse him in hospital by singing a
Christmas song
'Luckily, Joshua's surgeon had
been passing his room when his heart failed and came rushing
in.
'Straight away, he just opened
up Josh's chest and started massaging his heart.
'Josh was down for 40 minutes
altogether - we were so relieved when he came back.'
His family then faced an
anxious wait to see if he would recover.
'We brought Josh all his
favourite toys and hoped he would recognise them, but there was
nothing,' Mrs Baker said.
'He was too ill for his
sisters to visit him, but I let them speak down the phone to
Josh.
'It was just before Christmas,
and the girls sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer over the phone to
him. Suddenly, his eyes flickered and a huge grin spread over his
face.
'It was the best moment of my
life. My husband and I burst out crying, and so did all the nurses
on the ward.
'His sisters were his magic
medicine, and he's been getting stronger and stronger ever
since.'
Joshua had problems walking
when he came out of hospital and still gets tired easily but is
gaining strengths and enjoys playing football with his
father.
'We are just so grateful to Dr
Peek and everyone who looked after Josh at Glenfield Hospital,' Mrs
Baker said.
Carmel Hunt, matron for the
East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre, said: 'Joshua spent three
weeks with us at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester and spent his
fifth birthday with us.
'We are delighted that he is
now back home with his family and is making a fully
recovery.'
