ChronicleLive - Chronicle People

Oh no, they've remembered!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:31:12 +0000

And there I was thinking we might just have got away with it.

As October clicked into November, we reached the month in which Charlie's big operation was due to be done.

We hadn't heard from the hospital for a few weeks as we waited to find out the date.

Perhaps they'll forget, I thought.

But then came the phone call. Charlie's surgery had been scheduled for this coming Monday.

My heart goes out to you Andrea

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:22:13 +0000

The agony of a mother who has lost her little girl has been plain for all to see these past few days.

Andrea Hall's 17-year-old daughter Ashleigh left home in Darlington last Sunday evening, never to return.

The following night Andrea was given the dreadful news that Ashleigh's body had been found.

I met Andrea a few years ago when another of her daughters, Ellie, was being treated in the Freeman Hospital at the same time as my son Charlie.

Ellie and Charlie had undergone heart surgery, and their beds were next to each other in the Children's Heart Unit.

We had the obvious connection of being parents in the same situation, but we also came from the same town.

Why the head must rule the heart

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:56:31 +0000

Incredible though it may seem, the Children's Heart Unit at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital is effectively under threat of closure.

This despite a long and proud record of excellence in the field of paediatric cardiology.

And despite being one of only two places in the country where heart transplants are carried out on children.

If the seemingly impossible does happen, the backlash is inevitable.

But I won't be joining in.

Amazing what they can do nowadays

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:09:27 +0000

Heart surgery has come an awful long way in the past half-century, with the treatment of children in particular taking gigantic leaps forward.

It's the norm now for youngsters with major cardiac conditions to undergo life-saving, life-changing procedures.

New hearts are transplanted into tiny babies; wrongly-plumbed blood vessels are rerouted along their correct paths; faulty valves are repaired or replaced; holes are closed up . . . the list goes on.

With this kind of progress, it would be easy for people to become complacent.

Five weeks and counting

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:23:24 +0000

The name Charlie Fletcher has been added to the waiting list for surgery at the Freeman, with my lad due to go under the knife any time from the beginning of November.

We've got a few weeks to prepare ourselves for the big event . . . a little breathing space after the safe arrival of Charlie and George's baby sister last week. (Allow a proud dad to indulge - Annie, 8lbs, a little smasher).

Three years on from his last op, it's tough to imagine my four-year-old boy climbing aboard the heart surgery rollercoaster once again.

But take that step he must, and I'm sure the fighting spirit he possesses in abundance will see him through, as it has many times already in his short life.

As long as it's healthy?

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:04:09 +0000

My boys are due to meet their new baby brother or sister in a few weeks' time.

So what are you hoping for, people ask. Boy or girl? I don't mind, I tell them.

Yes, as long as it's healthy, comes the next line.

Well, not necessarily.

Toddle along for a good cause (if it stays dry)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:48:50 +0000

Newcastle's Freeman Hospital is rightfully considered one of the nation's leading lights when it comes to cardiac care for children.

Hundreds of heart operations are carried out here every year, on youngsters from across the north and beyond.

Its pioneering techniques regularly make the headlines. Add in a high success rate, and you have a formidable reputation.

Auf wiedersehen petition

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:14:04 +0000

MPs' expenses. Iraq inquiries. Checking on Susan Boyle. Yep, Gordon Brown has had a lot on his plate recently.

But one item that passed across the PM's desk didn't attract as much attention as those pressing matters, so let's redress the balance slightly.

Last month Mr Brown was presented with an online petition calling for every newborn baby to be given an echocardiogram - an ultrasound examination of the heart.

If he starts mooing we'll know why

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:33:43 +0000

We're counting down to the autumn now, when Charlie is due to have his next - and hopefully final - heart operation.

We've had our appointment with the surgeon, signed the consent form and now it's just a case of waiting.

Some time in October or November, Charlie will go into the Freeman Hospital to undergo open heart surgery, a full repair of the condition he was born with.

Britain really HAS got talent

Tue, 26 May 2009 10:14:21 +0000

No, I'm not talking about Flawless, Mama Trish or Merlin Cadogan.

The real talent on show for Bank Holiday viewers last night wasn't on ITV1, but a little later on Channel 4.

A man by the name of Francis Wells upstaged And & Dec's dancers, drag acts and escape artists with a genuinely talented display - performing open heart surgery live on TV.

A brush with normality

Thu, 14 May 2009 14:03:59 +0000

Many of us have occupied the same spot.

One lying on a hospital bed as cold gel splodges on to their exposed belly, the other sitting in a chair alongside.

Both sets of eyes focused on a grainy moving image. Anxiously awaiting the verdict.

In the vast majority of cases, the antenatal scan passes off without incident and any worries melt away.

But for lots of expectant couples, those scans can be a real rollercoaster. They certainly were when my wife was pregnant with our boys.

Another step closer

Sun, 03 May 2009 09:00:00 +0000

So the big day continues to carve a path in our direction.

Following on from Charlie's angiogram over Easter, we're due to see the man at the business end of this whole process - Mr Hasan, the surgeon.

Mr Hasan has carried out all four of Charlie's operations, and number five will be the biggest yet.

The next one is the big one

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Everything went smoothly for Charlie on his little overnight Easter break in the Freeman Hospital.

The angiogram showed that his heart has grown well since he had last surgery three years ago.

Dr Wren, Charlie's cardiologist, said the results were better than he expected. "It looks nice," was the pleasing verdict.

It all sets the stage for the next phase of my son's adventure - the major open-heart procedure to correct the defects he was born with.

The hospital checklist

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:00:00 +0000

We're all set for Charlie's trip into the Freeman.

It's been a while, so I thought I'd remind myself of the delights involved when your child goes into hospital.

Your normal existence is popped on hold as you enter the alternative reality of life on the ward.

Everyday routines disappear as the real world fades and your focus shifts ... on to trips to the WRVS shop and exciting walks up and down the corridor.

Making a cup of tea becomes an act of monumental significance.

And if you get visitors? Well, we're talking off the scale.

Going back in again

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:43:27 +0000

We're off into hospital over the Easter holidays - the first step on the road towards Charlie's next operation.

He is going in for an angiogram, an exploratory procedure which will give a complete picture of how his heart is working and developing.

The angiogram (also known as a heart catheter) will provide all the information needed to make a decision on what happens next for our boy.

We know he's going to need open heart surgery at some point. Perhaps it will be this year, or maybe a few years down the line.

It all depends on what the angiogram reveals.