Baby Theo Curry was diagnosed with three complex heart defects before he was born and had to undergo open-heart surgery at just eight weeks old.
The youngster has spent most of his life inside and outside the hospital. But his bravery – and his beautiful smile seen throughout his difficult journey – inspired his family and friends.
Theo was diagnosed with heart problems when his mother Yasmin Curry was 18 weeks pregnant. Abnormalities were discovered during scans and doctors informed the family that surgery would be required after he was born.
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Theo was born in May 2020, at 29 weeks and six days old, weighing just 3 pounds. The baby remained in intensive care at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for around seven weeks before being transferred to Freeman Hospital, weighing around 5 pounds at the time.
However, within days he became ill with bowel problems and an operation was performed to remove some of it. Yasmin, from Consett, County Durham, said Theo was initially going to have three separate surgeries for the heart defects.
(Photo: Yasmine Curry)
The 31-year-old social worker added: “He was not getting better. Because he was so sick the surgeons decided to have them all at once to give him a better chance. He was eight weeks old and he had open-heart surgery for 13 hours to correct the three defects. He weighed only 5 pounds, he was only small. But he did very well.
Theo was allowed to go home in September of that year with oxygen and a feeding tube. Ten months later, he had to return for a second open-heart surgery, at the age of one.
Yasmin said it was a worrying time for her and Theo’s father, Ian, 33, as their baby was struggling during the height of the pandemic. However, the youngster, who is almost two years old, is doing well now and has become an inspiration to everyone around him.
“He’s really doing better, he has no feeding tube and he’s so happy,” says Yasmin. “He used to smile in his hospital bed. Nothing seems to bother him. He’s such a tough little boy – a little fighter.”
(Photo: Yasmine Curry)
The family says Freeman Hospital has become a second home for them and that without the support of the Children’s Heart Unit Fund (CHUF), their hospital stay would have been more difficult.
Yasmin said: “Thanks to CHUF, we were able to stay on the hospital grounds near our son, we received help with the costs of long-term hospital stay. We had the essential equipment in the service we needed and they are funding the most incredible set of specialist nurses. The list is endless, we are truly grateful for all the help we have received.”
To thank the CHUF team, Theo’s father Ian, his uncle David Curry and his friends Scott Bell, Marc Anderson and Kevin Kay raise funds by walking from Edinburgh to Consett – an incredible 135 miles over five days – to from this weekend.
A JustGiving page has been created to help raise funds. Donations can be made here. The British Heart Foundation is also set to benefit from the sponsored walk.