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Lee and Michelle Aslin have been trying to have a baby for six years now. When Michelle finally got pregnant, they were overjoyed – but they didn’t realize that their happiness would be so short-lived.
At Michelle’s 20-week scan, doctors discovered that their son, Reggie, was developing hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a condition that would only leave him half of his proper heart. During fetal development, holes form in the heart and disrupt proper blood flow between the heart and the lungs.
Doctors gave Reggie a 50% chance of survival and predicted that he would need at least three major surgeries immediately after birth to ensure his survival. And even then, there was no guarantee that he would live past his teenage years.
Lee and Michelle were given the option of having an abortion – but after trying for so long to have a child, neither of them wanted to give up. They decided to continue their pregnancy and kept their fingers crossed the entire time.
On September 1, Reggie was born via C-section.
Just four days later, doctors performed open heart surgery on him to “re-plumb” his heart. The doctors had to “rewire” Reggie’s heart so the right ventricle would take over the role of the missing left ventricle; the right ventricle would ultimately pump blood into Reggie’s body while returning blood would just directly enter his lungs.
Thankfully, Reggie’s surgery was a success. He now has a massive, angry scar on his chest, but he’s pulled through and is recovering more and more each day.
“After the surgery, we got told that Reggie could be in hospital for three or four months but he has recovered really, really well,” Michelle said. “We were feeling a little bit nervous bringing him home but he is doing everything for himself. He is a little heart warrior. He is a little miracle.”
For more updates on Reggie’s condition after he returns home, visit his Facebook page.
