Two parents were shocked when their newborn son was checked over by the midwife just before he was due to go home as they found something worrying
Liz Stapleton and Steven Blackhurst were 'over the moon' when baby Tobias was born, weighing 7lbs 13oz, as he seemed like a perfectly healthy little boy.
But when he was having his 'final check' with the midwife, they thought they could hear a slight heart murmur so he had to undergo further tests, as the Liverpool Echo reports.
Soon it was sadly discovered that Tobias had a congenital heart defect, and if they had taken him home it could have been fatal.
How would you have handled the shocking news? Let us know in the comments...
When the midwife heard the murmur, they checked Tobias' oxygen levels before immediately rushing him to resus as the parents waited anxiously while hospital staff worked on the day-old baby.
He was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool and after multiple tests and scans, Liz and Steven, who also have a daughter, Eli-Vieve, were given a shocking diagnosis.
It emerged that Tobias had Hypo-plastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) which means the left side of the heart had not fully developed during pregnancy.
On February 15, Tobias underwent surgery to have a stent installed into an open valve in his heart, and only then was he finally allowed to go home.
Liz, 31, said: "We're trying to keep normality for our daughter but you're completely taken away by the diagnosis. It was a massive shock and we didn't know what it meant or what was going to happen.
"The doctors and nurses at Alder Hey were amazing. They held our hands all the way through and our family are really supportive as well.
"Looking at him now you'd think he was an ordinary baby, apart from the fact he only has half a working heart. The nurses are happy with him.
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"He's maintaining his oxygen levels and he's a good colour. Now it's just about waiting for appointments with the cardiac specialists to see how he's progressing inside."
In a few months, when Tobias is around six months old, he will have to have open-heart surgery known as a Glenn procedure, which reduces strain on one side of the organ.
Just before his first operation, Liz's friend Layla Mitchell-Smith set up a Go Fund Me page to support the family as Liz will be unable to return to work full-time due to caring for Tobias.
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
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