\u201cJo, from Heart Kids NZ, has been with us every step of the way. She sent me a book on all the different heart conditions, touched base every week and connected us with other families and gave Luke a special Heart Kids NZ teddy called Maia the bear.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 38 weeks\u2019 pregnant, Coad attended a routine appointment at Whakat\u0101ne Hospital, where she told her midwife she felt her baby was moving less than usual.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhitney Haddock was just so amazing at picking up just a tiny little blip on his heart monitoring. She was like, \u2018No, I\u2019m not happy with this\u2019,\u201d and Coad was urgently transferred to Tauranga Hospital, where doctors decided Luke needed to be delivered immediately.<\/p>\n
Luke was born via emergency C-section on Tuesday, February 17, this year.<\/p>\n
He initially required oxygen support and an NG feeding tube before being transferred back to Whakat\u0101ne Hospital\u2019s SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit).<\/p>\n
At 6 days old, Luke tested positive for rhinovirus (the common cold) and his condition deteriorated further.<\/p>\n
Luke Kisling during his remarkable journey through open-heart surgery and recovery. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
On March 5, Luke was reviewed by paediatric cardiologist John Sterling, who confirmed he had gone into heart failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cardiologist said, \u2018This is way worse than we anticipated, the hole\u2019s bigger,\u2019\u201d Coad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has one valve instead of two valves. The wall between his two chambers was non-existent.\u201d<\/p>\n
On March 11, doctors arranged an emergency helicopter transfer for Luke and Coad from Whakat\u0101ne Hospital to Auckland\u2019s Starship Hospital. Kisling and Hornby headed off ahead of them, having a surreal moment hours later seeing the helicopter pass them, knowing Luke was there.<\/p>\n
Luke was admitted to Starship\u2019s PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit), where staff changed his breathing support to bubble CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) as his condition worsened.<\/p>\n
On March 18, doctors told the family he would need immediate open-heart surgery the next day. Luke underwent a full repair operation on March 19 and spent two hours on a heart bypass.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a complete shock. We were living in complete survival mode.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the most intense day, waiting for news of the open-heart surgery. Then seeing Luke post-surgery was the hardest thing we have ever been through,\u201d Coad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the equipment, the pipes, machines and medication monitors \u2013 it was terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite concerns about how such a young baby would cope, Luke surprised medical staff with the speed of his recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe surpassed most of the nurses\u2019 and doctors\u2019 expectations. We would go from Ronald McDonald House to Starship post surgery and each day we would find another machine had come off and another medication weaned off.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the PICU at Starship, support people are unable to stay bedside because patients are critically unwell and surrounded by complex medical equipment. March 23 was the first time Luke\u2019s parents were able to hold him again post-surgery.<\/p>\n
Luke Kisling during his remarkable journey through open-heart surgery and recovery. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
His parents stayed at the Ronald McDonald House, a five-minute walk from Starship, while Luke recovered.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil you\u2019re in it, you don\u2019t realise how important those services are,\u201d Coad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PICU Starship\/Whakat\u0101ne SCBU\/Maternity staff were all kind, caring and empathetic; they treated Luke as if he was their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luke spent 20 days in Starship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were the most intense days of our lives. He was so sick. We were expecting him to need heart surgery; we just weren\u2019t anticipating it happening so quickly and so dramatically. It came as a complete shock to us all, and the ordeal was quite traumatising.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luke and Coad returned to Whakat\u0101ne on March 31 aboard a Life Flight service and spent additional time in Whakat\u0101ne Hospital establishing feeding.<\/p>\n
On April 4, the family were finally able to return home together for the first time since Luke\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a good feeling to be home and under one roof for the first time since Luke was born,\u201d Coad said.<\/p>\n
Luke has an older brother, James, 7, who stayed in Whakat\u0101ne with his dad during the ordeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a load off my mind knowing that my first son was safe. But your heart\u2019s split between two places.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Luke\u2019s surgery was successful, he continues to receive ongoing care from dietitians, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and other specialists.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe shouldn\u2019t need any more surgeries, but he will need ongoing monitoring for the rest of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n