By Isla Storie,Kieran Webster
Copyright dailyrecord
A Scots mum has shared her story after her baby daughter was diagnosed with a heart defect at just 12 weeks old. Aimee Mundt, from Airdrie, had a “gut feeling” something was not as it should be with little Gracie, after she started showing a number of symptoms . Following a traumatic birth in April this year, where she needed resuscitation for 11 minutes, the tot was struggling to keep warm. Even throughout heat waves over the summer, she needed blankets, with her hands and other parts of her body mottled. However, despite 25-year-old Aimee’s fears, doctors told her it was a normal thing for newborns to go through. She told our sister title Glasgow Live : “We believe she did have symptoms but we didn’t really think ‘oh, it could be her heart’. “She had a very funny colouring, her hands, especially, were kind of purple and her entire body was mottled. We kept raising this as a concern but was told it’s normal in newborns and just to warm her up. “She was born in April and we had all those heatwaves, our house was sitting at 26 degrees, and she’d be in a vest, sleepsuit and a swaddle and she’d still be mottled afterwards so we knew she wasn’t just cold. “I had said on a few occasions that I wanted her heart checked because my gut just felt something wasn’t quite right.” It was only during an unrelated hospital admission with bronchiolitis where a consultant discovered Gracie had a heart murmur. She was referred to cardiology and later diagnosed with pulmonary stenosis – a congenital heart defect (CHD) where the pulmonary valve is narrowed, restricting blood flow from the right ventricle to the lungs. Gracie’s case is a mild one, and she is not currently receiving any treatment , but she is still being actively monitored. She also has a form of anorectal malformation, which Aimee believes is common for babies to also have alongside a heart defect. Following the diagnosis, Aimee and her husband Matt, 25, contacted the charity Tiny Tickers, and connected with families going through similar situations. She said: “We are very hopeful that Gracie’s heart defect can actually improve and potentially resolve – that is the real hope for us but we would obviously take stability too. “She’s got another echocardiogram coming up where we will get a better idea of her condition and hopefully get the all clear from needing any treatments. “Since connecting with Tiny Tickers, we have seen parents sharing a whole range from mild to critical congenital heart defects and I just want to emphasise that we are so thankful that Gracie’s condition is mild, but it has thrown us into a world that we never expected to be thrown into. “A world of new terminology, appointments and worries. Seeing how strong all these amazing babies in the Tiny Tickers parents groups on Facebook and the amazing work that they do to raise awareness and deliver training, and provide support to parents and families. “Although Gracie is mild, we’ve been welcomed into the community with open arms, there is absolutely no comparison between a baby who is mild and may never require treatment to one fighting fit their lives so my heart absolutely goes out to everyone fighting these battles.” To give back to the charity for their support , the couple are taking on the 1 in 100 challenge. Aimee will be doing 100 squats every day in October, while Matt plans to run a total of 100km over the month. They intend to raise awareness of their daughter’s condition, and improve education on early diagnosis, which can drastically improve a prognosis. Aimee added: “I said to Matt when we were deciding to take part in the challenge that we can’t change the outcome of Gracie’s condition – whether she improves, resolves or worsens – but what we can do is raise awareness, help raise funds to deliver training so early diagnosis is possible, so less babies are sent home with undiscovered CHDs. Aimee and Matt’s fundraiser can be found here .
