07 May 2023 , 13:53
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A mother whose daughter was diagnosed with a rare heart condition before she was born has spoken of the moment her little girl went into cardiac arrest.
Loren Bowcock, 29, first knew something was amiss at little Matilda’s 20 week scan when a sonographer noticed some of her arteries were crossed over.
Loren pushed to see a consultant and her unborn daughter was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries, or TGA, a rare heart problem where the two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed.
Half an hour after her birth in November 2022 at Liverpool Women’s Hospital the tiny tot was transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital where she had her first surgery to help her oxygen flow.
Loren Bowcock with her tiny daughter (Loren Bowcock / SWNS)
Matilda was diagnosed with a heart condition at her 20 week scan (Loren Bowcock / SWNS)Five months later Loren was in a McDonald’s when doctors called to say she needed to get to the hospital quickly as Matilda had gone into cardiac arrest and her heart stopped for a whole seven minutes, Manchester Evening News reported.
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The mother of three said: “I thought I was going to lose her.
“I just couldn’t even think straight. You just can’t - it’s so hard to take in that information. There are no words.”
"When [the hospital] rings you to tell you something, you know they don’t ring you if she’s alright.
“I knew how poorly she was. I rang my mum and dad and they came from Bolton to be with me. The consultant said her heart stopped beating for seven minutes.”
She is now stable after spending some time in critical care at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Matilda has lived in hospital since her birth and Loren has only recently been able to pick her up for the first time.
Matilda has only recently gone outside (Loren Bowcock / SWNS)
It is unclear when Matilda will be allowed home (Loren Bowcock / SWNS)Hooked up to a breathing machine, the tot went outside for the first time in her life earlier this week for a two-minute walk around the hospital gardens.
“It was her first breath of fresh air, Loren added. “It’s the tiny things like not having the chest drains on. I can pick her up myself; I can actually do things myself so I feel a bit more like a mum now.
“She had her first bath two weeks ago. She’s doing really well compared to where we’ve been but we have a good while to go.”
Matilda has been rushed to the operating theatre 14 times for surgeries including having chest drains attached to her to drain fluid from her lungs.
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Now weighing just 10lbs, Matilda is currently being fed via a peg and remains on several different types of medication. It’s not yet known when the youngster can go home.
Loren is now urging other expectant mothers to go to their 20-week scan, knowing how vital it was in picking up Matilda's condition.