A baby who was said to have “no chance of survival” after being born with half a heart is now thriving having undergone successful surgery. Rob Velez, 50, and Zofia Fenrych, 41, were left heartbroken when doctors diagnosed unborn daughter Dorothea with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) at a 16-week scan in February 2022.
HLHS is a condition in which the left side of the organ is chronically undeveloped. The parents were also told she had a blockage in her heart and would not survive without medical intervention.
However, the highly specialised procedure needed was only available in Texas, USA, and required a small fortune to perform it. Rob and Zofia set about trying to raise an eye-watering £2.5 million to cover the costs, with the surgery, which would be performed while the baby was still in the womb, increasing survival chances from 5% to 87%.
