After attending several routine 20-week scans, we were informed that they couldn’t see everything they needed to see because our ‘Peanut’ kept curling up in awkward positions.  We were referred to London for a further scan, but told it was just positional. 

We thought there might possibly be something amiss, but nothing prepared us for the news! Our ‘Peanut’ had Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect and Major Aorto-Pulmonary Collateral Arteries, and we were advised to terminate. 

At this point, I was 26 weeks pregnant, and we’d just started thinking about all the things we needed to start buying.  Our world came crashing down!  Promptly, we sought a second opinion, and we were given hope, that even with this condition, our ‘Peanut’ could go on to have a good quality of life, and anytime anything negative was said, ‘Peanut’ gave me a good kick! 

We also contacted Little Hearts Matter, who were fantastically supportive!  The call we received from another parent made a world of difference to us!

Ben is now an active, intelligent, and determined 8-year-old boy, who is living life to the max.  He has defied the odds and proved everybody wrong, doing all the things we were told he wouldn’t be able to do along the journey, including breastfeeding, baby-led weaning, sports, riding his bike, and behaving like a typical 8-year-old big brother.

The ride has been tough with many unknowns, complications following his surgeries, and emotional ups and downs with every milestone, and we know the ride isn’t over, with more surgery to come, but it’s one we’d always buy the ticket for.