Kirby parents Liz Stapleton and Steven Blackhurst could not have been prouder as they prepared to take their newborn son home from hospital on January 28. Weighing in at 7lbs 13oz, Tobias had been born by planned C-section, but as a midwife carried out routine final checks, she noticed a problem that would change their lives forever.
Detecting what she thought was a heart murmur, the midwife checked the baby’s oxygen levels before immediately rushing him over to resus, reports the Liverpool ECHO. As the parents, who also share a three-year-old daughter Eli-Vieve, waited for news, hospital staff worked on the day-old baby. As doctors were still in the dark about his condition, Tobias was rushed to Alder Hey children’s hospital by ambulance.
After multiple tests and scans, Liz and Steven were given a diagnosis, a congenital heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which means the left side of the heart had not fully developed during pregnancy. The couple were told if they had been allowed to take Tobias home the outcome could have been fatal. On February 15, Tobias underwent a surgery to install a stent to a open a valve in his heart and he was finally allowed to come home.
