Coronavirus: Newborn with heart defect and virus defies odds
- Published
The family of Raees Hassan were told to prepare for the worst
A newborn baby who was diagnosed with a complex heart defect has defied the odds after contracting coronavirus.
Raees Hassan, from Rochdale, had a "remote" chance of survival after being rushed to hospital at six weeks old.
After being diagnosed with a rare case of transposition of the great arteries, his family were dealt another blow when he tested positive for Covid-19.
But five weeks after being rushed to hospital, Raees is back at home with his family after life-saving surgery.
"Doctors say there is no reason he can't do anything he wants to. He can climb mountains, be a racer, whatever he wants. He has a life now," said his mother Farah.
The operation was very high risk with a less than 50% chance of survival, Alder Hey Children's Hospital said
Six weeks after his birth, Raees was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital with a chest recession.
He was then transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Merseyside where it was discovered his two main arteries in his heart were the wrong way around.
This meant the Raees couldn't breathe properly and his condition was life-threatening, an NHS spokesperson said.
His combination of health problems - including testing positive for coronavirus on arrival at the hospital - meant Raees' chances of surviving were very remote, Alder Hey said.
Raees Hassan is now back at home and getting to know his three-year-old brother Ayaan
"It was a life or death situation. Even the doctors said the odds were against us," said Farah, who couldn't even touch her son without wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE).
Once he tested negative for the virus, Raees had to undergo a life-saving but high-risk operation to repair his heart malformation.
But the operation, which took more than six hours, described as a success by doctors and, two weeks after the operation, he is now at home.
Farah has now thanked those who saved her son's life, adding medics "have done such an amazing job".
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