A ten-month old baby boy was rushed to intensive care and put on life support after a vessel in his heart opened.
Baby Oliver’s parents, Amelia and Brian Christie, saw their lives change forever when they were told he had a critical cardiac condition at his 20-week scan. At 26 weeks, it became clear he had hypoplastic left heart syndrome – a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart.
The condition means the left side of the heart can’t develop properly as the baby grows. Oliver also had holes in his heart, high pulmonary pressures and a double outlet right ventricle.
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Dad Brian, 36, said: “We were told something was wrong with his heart and that we’d be called back for another scan in two days.
“They gave us a leaflet about heart defects and sent us home. Those two days were awful. It was scary.”
Amelia, 31, had an elective C-section and Oliver was born on December 8, 2020 at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Three weeks later, Oliver had a successful open heart surgery.
In October 2021 Oliver had a second type of open heart surgery, known as the Glenn Procedure. The operation initially went well but two weeks later Oliver deteriorated very badly.
He was pushed into the ICU at 6am and by 5.15pm his oxygen levels had dropped to 20%. Within 15 minutes he was put on life support.
A blood vessel had opened in his heart and Oliver needed emergency surgery as the blood was flowing in the wrong way. Amelia rushed to Alder Hey from their home in Norris Green, desperately telling people “my son’s in intensive care” to get into the car park.
Oliver stayed in Alder Hey for three months, going into the ICU three times. Amelia said: “You just felt like you could never be happy because something could happen and he would deteriorate. It was just horrible.
“The staff were absolutely amazing. They have a way of distracting you from what is happening around you.”
Oliver – now 16 months old – was finally able to come home on New Year’s Eve and has managed to stay out of hospital since January. Amelia said: “He’s doing really well and it’s just amazing to have him home.
“He’s such a happy-go-lucky baby. He’s always so happy and always smiling so you know that when he cries he’s really upset.”
Oliver can sit up and shuffle around. He needs to be on oxygen and struggles with feeding so is fed through a tube into his tummy.
He still has hospital appointments twice a week and receives palliative care. He will have his next major operation when he is between three to five years old.
Doctors have given him a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years. Amelia said: “Obviously you just never ever know what will happen, especially after what happened last year. The next operation is going to be extremely scary.”
Amelia and Brian got married two weeks ago and Oliver enjoyed going to the wedding and Center Parks afterwards. Amelia said he adores the Teletubbies, his Pomeranian, Princess, and shaking his favourite maraca.
The couple have been supported by Claire House Children’s Hospice since the 20-week scan. Kat, a nurse consultant, was there to support them at appointments and helped them understand what was going on at each stage.
She was also there for Oliver's birth, when covid restrictions meant Amelia was alone.. Brian said: “Claire House are always there when we need them. They’re like family.”
To keep up with Oliver’s journey you can follow his Instagram account: @oliver_chdbaby
