Red bench installed to honour six-year-old's who had life-saving heart surgery
Amalie Roberts was born with two serious heart defects
A family from a village near Melksham say they're honoured that a red bench has been installed by the British Heart Foundation as a living tribute to the bravery of their daughter.
Amalie Roberts, who is now six-years-old, had life-saving heart surgery days after being born for two serious heart defects.
She was born with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and a ventricular septum defect (VSD) following her mum Sophie’s 20-week scan. TGA is where the two main heart arteries are the wrong way around and VSD is more commonly known as a hole in the heart.
Amalie's conditions were identified following a routine 20-week pregnancy scan, with parents Sophie and Matt told their newborn would need open-heart surgery soon after she arrived in order to survive.
Sophie gave birth to Amalie and she was allowed home for a few days before the surgery. She told us it was a time of immense worry.
"I remember talking to the anaesthetist the day before,and just said, 'What if we didn't bring her in? What if we didn't want to do that?' And he said she wouldn't make it past about 8 months old. So obviously, you have to do it, you have to give her a chance," she said.
She described the wait during the nine hour surgery as "agonising" and "horrible".
"We stayed with her until she fell asleep. It's really difficult. You're waiting for that phone call for them to say that it's, you know, been successful and that she's okay.
"But we're also told that if you get a phone call before us at that time, it's bad news. So you want your phone to ring, but you don't want your phone to ring too soon."
Amalie spent several days in intensive care, with mum or dad by her side at all times. Sophie explained that her two older children, Thomas and Felicity, who were three and four at the time, helped keep some structure in their lives.
She said: "You're completely helpless when you're sat by Amalie's bedside. But when you go home and you're with these other two that are really little and they need you, you have a purpose with them because they've missed you, they want your attention.
"It does take your mind off things."
Amalie has made a full recovery and now leads a normal life, albeit with ongoing check-ups.
Bench "sparking conversation"
The installation of the red bench for Amalie is part of a British Heart Foundation (BHF) campaign marking 65 years of life saving work.
65 red benches are being unveiled across the country in tribute to those living with heart conditions.
Sophie said it's a reminder of how special Amalie is.
"We tell her every day, but for her to know how special she is to other people as well, and to an organisation at the British Heart Foundation who have helped us enormously, is just brilliant," she said.
The bench has got people talking on social media about heart health and Sophie says the family want the bench to be a symbol of hope for those affected by heart conditions.
She added: "It's brought a community together without probably realizing that they needed to come together."
More research vital
Sophie stressed the need for continued research to help more children who are born with heart conditions - as well as people who develop cardiovascular disease.
Amalie's surgery was created by BHF professor, Professor Robert Anderson, who mapped the anatomy and electrical system of different congenital heart defects in the 1970s and 1980s, meaning heart surgery could be safer for people.
Sophie said: "They've also looked at how they can improve recovery times for children who go through TGA as well. They're continually developing these ways to help these children, you know, kind of live on and lead normal lives, whether it's in limiting recovery time or limiting surgical time."
In the years since Amalie's surgery, the family has raised over £23,000 to support the BHF and are planning to continue raising funds.
Matt said: “We are forever in debt to the doctors and nurses who cared for Amalie, and fundraising is our way of saying thank you and helping other families who might face what we went through. Amalie’s life was saved because of research, and we want to make sure that progress never stops so more children have the chance of a healthy future.”