Claudia was a normal, healthy baby until, aged one, she fell ill with what doctors thought was bronchitis. However, it quickly became clear her condition was more serious and tests showed she had dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart becomes enlarged and pumps blood less effectively. Her only chance of survival was a heart transplant.
Claudia’s condition deteriorated and she was rushed to the intensive care unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital and put on ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) – a mechanical assist device for the heart. ECMO is a short-term solution, but Claudia’s young age meant it was going to be difficult to find a donor organ quickly.
After a few weeks, the decision was made to take Claudia off ECMO and in its place she was fitted with a ‘Berlin Heart’, an innovative bridge device which assists the heart and can keep children alive much longer while they await a transplant. The tiny pump was fitted by tubes to the left chamber of Claudia’s heart and within a matter of days she went from being very weak to sitting up and moving around.
Twenty-seven days after the Berlin Heart was fitted a donor organ became available and Claudia was given her heart transplant. A month later she was at home and continues to make good progress.
