Erin Giles, from Dover, was rushed to hospital after her heart started beating 300 times a minute – her parents were told to prepare for the worst
The parents of a three-week-old baby have revealed how they were told to brace for the worst after their daughter’s heart began racing at 300 beats per minute. Jack and Chloe Giles, from Dover, dashed tiny Erin to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford after she suddenly fell ill.
Medics fought for hours to stabilise the 22-day-old before finding her body had entered cardiogenic shock and her heart rhythm was perilously erratic.
Remembering the nightmare on Boxing Day last year, Chloe said: “We were at first told Erin was not going to make it. We called her grandparents to come over and say goodbye.
“You can’t imagine how relieved we were when she pulled through. My own father had died the year before from a heart condition.”
Experts cautioned Chloe and Jack that Erin would require ventilation and undergo a dangerous cardioversion procedure to jolt her heart back into a safe rhythm, with no certainty she would survive. Fortunately, the treatment succeeded.
A specialist intensive care team from Evelina London Children’s Hospital in Westminster was sent immediately and, following 12 hours of round-the-clock care in Ashford, Erin was stable enough to be transported by ambulance to the capital.
A team of expert cardiologists and nurses at Evelina spent the following week caring for her in the hospital’s dedicated children’s intensive care unit. Her parents were able to stay nearby at McDonald House – accommodation provided for families with critically ill children.
Erin was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare heart condition caused by an extra electrical pathway, which led to supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) – an abnormally fast heart rhythm. At one point, Erin’s heart was beating more than four times faster than normal.
Her dad Jack said on a crowdfunding page: “Without the incredible care, Erin’s future could have looked very different and we are incredibly grateful.”
Erin, who has two big sisters – Evie, six, and Lily, four – has since returned home and is now being carefully monitored by Evelina’s specialist cardiology team, remaining on daily medication to control her condition. To thank the medics, Jack and his brother Ben this week completed a gruelling 300-mile cycling challenge from South Wales to Dover, raising more than £2,000 for Evelina’s cardiac unit.
They said: “Every pound raised will help Evelina London do incredible things for sick children, young people and their families.”