A MUM has shared heart-wrenching pictures of her little girl, who was left needing a new heart after catching a common virus.
Evie Green, now three years old, was just four months when she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in October 2019.
This is a heart muscle disease which makes the heart unable to squeeze properly to pump blood into the rest of the body.
Evie's mum Chloe Green, 27, from Middlesbrough remembered: "Her dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosis was a shock to us, and we were petrified at the thought of losing our daughter.
"But she's a fighter, and she responded well to the medication doctors gave her."
Apart from occasionally suffering breathlessness and urinary incontinence, the tot was able to recover.
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But mum-of-two and local authority worker Chloe said: "We knew we had to be wary of her condition, and she was vulnerable to viruses and infections, but for three years she was completely fine."
Thanks to medication, Evie was fit and healthy until she caught 'cold-like' virus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in January this year.
Most children will have had RSV by the time they turn two, the NHS says – it's very common and spreads easily through coughs and sneezes.
Older children and adults might get a cough or cold from the virus, but it could cause a chest infection called bronchiolitis in children.
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Bronchiolitis mostly affects babies and children under two, causing mild symptoms such as sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, a cough and a slightly high temperature of 38C.
You can treat the illness at home, however, bronchiolitis can become serious in some children and they may need to be treated in hospital.
When Evie swabbed positive for RSV in January, her mum Chloe recalled that the virus left her breathless.
It also put pressure on the tot's weaker heart.
Chloe said: "We went for a routine check-up and it showed the extreme stress her heart was under – the results were terrifying."
The virus pushed Evie to end-stage heart failure and she had to have an emergency ventricular assist device (VAD) fitted to her heart. The mechanical devise assists the heart in pumping blood around the body.
The little girl even suffered a cardiac arrest during the terrifying eight-hour operation, but surgeons at Freemans Hospital in Newcastle were able to stabilise her.
Evie pulled through and is recovering well, but doctors said she needs a new heart, and is on the transplant list.
Chloe says her daughter is now stuck in hospital until they match her with a child donor.
The mechanical heart needs constant supervision by doctors and nurses, and until she has a transplant, it is the only thing keeping her alive.
"She can't leave hospital without a new heart, but there's not enough child organ donors for the amount of sick children," Chloe said.
"On average, we've been given a waiting time of nine to 12 months, but it could well be longer.
"Plus, there's no guarantee of an exact match. It's a total lottery."
Chloe said she is now aiming to raise awareness of the benefits of child organ donation.
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"Providing the gift of life for someone else is an incredible concept, and, currently, Evie's life depends on receiving that gift."
The mum added: "It's not a case of begging for someone's heart, I just want parents who lose their children to be alive to the power they have to help another family when they need it most."
What is dilated cardiomyopathy?
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a heart muscle disease which makes the muscle walls become stretched and thin.
It affects the lower left chamber of the heart – your heart has four chambers.
The left chamber usually has thick muscular walls and its job is to pump blood with a new supply of oxygen to the rest of the body.
With DCM making the chamber's walls thinner – and thus weaker – the heart can’t squeeze properly to pump blood to the rest of the body.
For many people, the cause of their DCM is unknown. For others, it's caused by gene mutations. The disease will often run in a family.
Other causes include:
- a heart valve problem
- uncontrolled high blood pressure
- another untreated heart condition
- blood vessel or bodily tissues disease
- a viral infection, if it causes inflammation of the heart muscle
- a lack of vitamins, drinking too much alcohol and using recreational drugs
- pregnancy – a disease of the heart muscle can sometimes develop as a complication but the majority of women recover overtime
Common symptoms of DCM include:
- tiredness
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- swelling of your feet, ankles, stomach and lower back
- palpitations – when your heartbeat feels like it’s fluttering, pounding or thudding in your neck or chest
They'll often develop slowly and can be controlled with medication and other treatments.
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