Blake's story
Looking at 11 month old Blake, you might see some of that resilience in his eyes that got him to where he is today. But you would never guess what he has already been through in his short life, some of which he spent at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick.
At 36 weeks, doctors found a tumour growing in the left ventricle of Blake’s heart, the last chamber the blood enters before it goes to the brain. After birth, he was monitored to see if the tumour would grow and obstruct blood flow, which it unfortunately did.
At just two months old, he turned blue and suddenly stopped breathing. Blake’s mother Kelly said the wait for the ambulance was the longest 15 minutes of her life. “We were told he had a 10 percent chance of surviving without damage to the brain or body function,” she said.
At the time, Blake’s doctor and family had to search back over the past 30 years in all age groups to find only 17 similar cases internationally – and only one involving a child the same age as Blake. That child did not survive the necessary operation.
Blake was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Sydney Children’s Hospital and required two open heart surgeries to remove the tumour. After the second open heart surgery, Blake was on full life support for two weeks fighting for his life. Kelly said things got so bad the doctors were preparing for the worst - to turn off life support in a matter of days.
“To my surprise – and delight – Blake’s heart started beating unaided. A couple of days later he made it off life support. We were thrilled!” said Kelly.
The following weeks, however, were not smooth sailing. His heart slipped into ‘electrical storms’ that required shock treatment to bring the heart’s rhythm back to normal. Then there were calls from the Hospital in the middle of the night asking Kelly to come in because ‘Blake might not make it’. One night, Blake’s condition deteriorated so badly the defibrillator machine was used on him 30 times before he stabilised again. Staff in the ICU never gave up on him, working tirelessly to save him. “They were amazing,” Kelly said.
Now, Blake is doing well at home with his newly acquired pacemaker and defibrillator in his stomach as safeguards. Blake still visits the Hospital regularly for check ups – so far there are no signs of growth – and the wall of his heart, of which one third is damaged will repair itself over time.
“He’s probably safer than I am, given my heart has missed a few beats since this all started!” said Kelly.
“Blake has a strong and resilient character and takes everything in his stride with a smile. He’s determined, calm, expressive and loves a joke. At 11 months, he seems years ahead of the pack, which makes sense given he has already experienced what most will never do in a lifetime. We are so grateful to Sydney Children’s Hospital and its medical and fundraising teams, without which Blake would not be with us today,” she said.