‘Words cannot begin to describe the pain’: Parents discover baby has tumour on heart – Bristol Post

A family has launched a desperate appeal to send their ten-month-old baby to America after doctors found a heart tumour so rare only a handful of patients have ever been diagnosed with the condition.

When three-month-old Michael Labuschagne woke up gasping for air, his dad quickly started performing CPR.

His mum Emma dialled 999 and within minutes paramedics were in their Horfield home attempting to save his life.

Michael was suffering a cardiac arrest but luckily emergency workers were able to slow down his heart rate and rush him to Bristol Children's Hospital.

Only seven per cent of babies survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

At BCH, his parents were told the earth-shattering news Micheal had a rare heart tumour and there was a high chance he had suffered brain damage.

He was put into an induced coma and his parents were told it was likely he would never wake.

"When doctors told us the worst I felt numb, there are no words to describe the feeling, " said Emma, aged 27.

But days later when doctors reduced his sedation, Micheal started blinking and twitching. He then opened his big brown eyes and smiled at his dad Stuart.

Scans proved he had not suffered brain damage but Michael was far from out of the woods yet.

He was diagnosed with a cardiac fibroma attached to the septum within the left chamber of his heart. This is so rare only a handful of patients have ever been diagnosed with the condition in the UK.

There is no long-term solution offered on the NHS but Michael's parents discovered a hospital in Boston which can remove the tumour.

For Michael to undergo the life-changing surgery, his family now need to raise a staggering 120,000 - ideally within six months.

"At 14 weeks and three days old he went to bed like any other baby," Emma recalls. "But at 5am he had suffered heart failure," said Emma.

"Words cannot begin to describe thepainwe felt in that moment.

"We watched our baby breathless, gasping for air while his heart stopped and paramedics worked to save his life. In that moment I did not think Michael would make it through.

"Yet I am so so blessed to be here telling you that he survived. He survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest which only 7 per cent patients do."

After waking from his comma, Micheal, who is now aged 10 months, was fitted with a pacemaker, the large object restricts the tot's movement and he is now unable to sit up or support his own head.

"It does hold him back, " said Emma, who is a mum-of-three. "It's as big as the size of the palm of my hand and it has sharp edges.

"Putting that inside a baby is quite uncomfortable for them.

"But he is amazing, you wouldn't know looking at him that he is fighting this.

"Michael is currently having technical problems with his pace maker though.

"The sensing lead is struggling to read Michaels heart rate, even at the highest threshold. This means that is is completely unreliable, and potentially will not work.

"Every day is an unknown, until we can get his fibroma removed."

But to undergo the operation, the family need to raise thousand of pounds.

"Boston Childrens Hospital, ranked number one paediatric hospital in the world, has quoted us $147,000 which converts to approximately 116,000 for the procedure and we will need to pay for flights and accommodation," said Emma.

"The cardiac surgeons at Boston are the best cardiac surgeons in the world and they have done this operation several times.

"They are confident that they can drastically improve, or even cure, his condition by resecting the tumour."

To raise the money the family have launched a Gofundme, you can donate here.

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'Words cannot begin to describe the pain': Parents discover baby has tumour on heart - Bristol Post