Delightedly, a mother has conveyed her happiness as her miracle child overcame the odds to survive an 11-hour open heart surgery. Now, her son is a thriving, healthy toddler.
The young boy, Callan McBride, was born with a severe heart defect in 2022. His parents, Shona and Scott, decided on a name which means ‘brave in battle’, given his ordeal. He underwent his first surgery just ten days after his birth.
Now at three years old, this fearless child from Glasgow has since faced three major surgeries. His proud mother emphasizes how incredibly strong and happy her child is, who admirably “takes everything in his stride”.
Shona shares, “Callan’s first open heart surgery occurred when he was just 10 days old. The operation took around 11 hours. Despite its difficulty, he pulled through.
“Indeed, there were a few setbacks along this journey, but two weeks after surgery, we finally got to take him back home so he could meet his family for the first time.”
Unfortunately, Callan’s health worsened and at five months old, another operation was deemed necessary.
Shona continued: “A CT scan revealed that Callan had developed a large aneurysm at the end of the artificial shunt in his heart. We were told he would need another open-heart surgery immediately.”
“Two weeks following that diagnosis, he underwent his second surgery. It was disheartening. We knew Callan would need more surgeries later down the line, but we hoped this one might have been the last for a while.”
The second surgery proved successful, but shortly after, his concerned mother noticed that the tot couldn’t move the left side of his body. After subsequent scans, Callan was diagnosed with a watershed stroke. He had lost the motor function of his left arm and leg.
Adding to this, Shona said, “We were just adapting to manage the heart condition, but this presented a fresh set of challenges.
“It was a lot for our little guy to deal with. But gradually, he began to show us how strong he truly is – stubborn and determined. He started regaining more and more movement on his left side.
“With more battles yet to come, a few months after his second birthday, we scheduled Callan’s third open heart surgery.
But he recovered remarkably well, and we were fortunate to bring him home less than two weeks after this surgery.”
In true spirit of his name, Callan has conquered every battle that came his way, maturing into a thriving youngster.
“Since this surgery, Callan has been making great strides. People who meet him can’t believe how he’s such an optimistic little boy, despite him having been through so much.”
Shona also praised the staff at the Children’s Hospital in Glasgow for the expert care that contributed to her son’s wellbeing.
In her words, “There were times we couldn’t stay with Callan, but the caring nurses ensured to update us with videos through VCreate, which brought us immense joy.
“Our gratitude to all those involved in saving our son’s life is beyond words. Our son has brought so much joy to so many people, and he could only do that because of the medical team. It’s a debt we’ll never be able to repay.”.
