A devastated mum is hoping to raise enough money to buy a gravestone for her son who died at just 15 months old.
Mason-Lee Codona was only alive for a short time and he experienced more troubles than most would have to go through in a lifetime.
The tot was born ten weeks premature on March 25, 2021, weighing in at 3lb 3. Despite the fact that he would go on to require three separate open heart surgery procedures, his mum Gypsymarie Codona, 19, said that when Mason-Lee was born there was no sign of the problems that would later develop.
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Gypsymarie, from Barrhead, said: “I had no clue about any of his health problems, until one day he developed a wee cold and he deteriorated from there.
"We didn’t understand why and so we sent him in for scans - brain scans, heart scans - and we found out that he had three heart defects - transposition of the arteries, ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis and hyperinsulinism.”
Mason-Lee was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, where he would go on to spend much more time in his short life.
Despite the doctors’ prognosis, Gypsymarie remained hopeful of a positive outcome for her young boy. She said: “He got his full repair in December and the doctors said that should be him fine until adult life.”
At that point Gypsymarie felt sure that she would be able to enjoy seeing her son grow up into a young man.
However, she was dealt a devastating blow in May this year when doctors told her that Mason-Lee’s condition had changed dramatically.
Gypsymarie explained: “They did scans on Friday, May 13 and did some more checks and they said ‘There’s nothing more we can do for him, because he’s got massive heart failure’.
"They said that any more surgery was just too risky and he would have died on the operating table. So they said it was just best to leave him to go on his own time. They said it could have been weeks or months.
“I was upset but I was hopeful that he would be with us for quite a while. I’d heard about people living for five to ten years, but he was so complex that he didn’t last that long.”
Mason-Lee died just three weeks after being sent home from the RHC and his funeral took place two weeks ago.
A fundraiser has been set up buy Gypsymarie’s sister Megan, with the aim of raising money to help purchase a gravestone for Mason-Lee, who is buried in St Convals Cemetery in Barrhead.
Gypsymarie is managing to face things with the support of her family. She added: “I’ve always dealt with things. It is hard, but I know he’s looking over me.
“And I’ve got my sister, my brother and my mum. Some good friends have helped too.”
A link to the fundraiser to help purchase a headstone for Mason-Lee’s grave can be found here
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