Four-year-old Kit became unwell when, after a weekend of Easter egg hunts last year, his behaviour changed and he went off his food leading to a trip to hospital.
“He’s usually so full of energy and spent Good Friday running around the garden. He woke up the next day and was off his food – he didn’t even want chocolate!” said mum Hannah.
A chest X-ray revealed that Kit had an enlarged heart and would need an urgent transplant – the same condition that caused his dad, Joe, to undergo a heart transplant 15 years earlier.
This devastating diagnosis completely changed normal everyday life for the Matthews, with Kit transferred from his home to the children’s heart unit at the Freeman Hospital where he was fitted with a Berlin Heart.
Traditionally, the Berlin Heart is powered by a large heavy machine which can only be unplugged from the mains for around half an hour at a time making it impossible for Kit to leave the hospital and live any sort of normal life.
During his stay consultant in paediatric cardiovascular intensive care medicine, Dr Emma Simpson transfers Kit to a much smaller portable device with a battery life of 6 to 8 hours.
The switch has to be planned to precision as Emma explains “It’s only going to take us a few seconds to change him from the old machine to the new machine but we have to put a lot of time in to the set up to get it absolutely right. Kit can become quite sick, quite quickly if we don’t get it right.”
Hannah and Joe watch on as Kit is swapped to his new machine and reflect on the last few months.
Dad Joe said: “He’s soldiered on through absolutely everything they’ve chucked at him. He’s seen so many different faces and every new face wanted to prick his with a needle and take blood.”
The switch goes smoothly and Kit gets to take a trip to the fruit and vegetable stall outside of the heart unit – the first time he’s been out of the hospital in months.
Emma knows that although this will give Kit a new lease of life he still needs a transplant “One day I’ll come to work and be told he’s had a transplant and it’s lovely then to walk into the cubicle and celebrate with the family – the VADs put back in the cupboard – that’s fantastic.”
Kit who is now five, is back home with his mum, dad and younger brother – thriving and enjoying his freedom after his successful heart transplant.
