Mommy's Angel
Katie Angel and her husband Kevin were over the moon when they found out that they were expecting their second child, a boy they would call Liam. Little did Katie know that the denotation of his name─strong-willed warrior─would take on a whole new meaning in the years to come.Katie was seven months pregnant when a routine ultrasound detected an abnormality with her baby’s tiny heart. It appeared that the left side of Liam’s heart wasn’t developing as it should have been. With little concrete information to go on about his condition, Katie and Kevin did what they could to prepare themselves for what was to come. Their local hospital wasn’t equipped to deal with what complications would likely arise at the time of Liam’s birth, nor did they have the paediatric care team that could treat his condition. So, on July 4, 2011, Katie delivered Liam nearly four hours away from their home, at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Almost immediately after his birth, Liam was rushed across the street to The Hospital for Sick Children where he was officially diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
Of the 1 in 100 babies born with a heart defect, HLHS accounts for seven to nine per cent of cases. Fortunately, as home to the Labatt Family Heart Centre, one of the largest paediatric heart centres in the world, SickKids and its team of leading doctors, nurses and other highly-trained health-care professionals were on hand to help save Liam’s life the minute he arrived at the hospital. SickKids performs more than 85 per cent of paediatric cardiovascular surgeries in Ontario.
"Liam’s journey has given us a whole new appreciation for life and for our family."
It’s been three and a half years since Liam’s ordeal began. Now a bubbly, active toddler, Liam is stable, having undergone two subsequent surgeries─one at six months and the most recent just three months ago in October 2014. He continues to experience minor aortic leakage, which has been the case since birth. Doctors will continue to monitor Liam and if his heart shows any sign of trauma, more surgery may be necessary. He will also likely need a heart transplant one day. In the meantime, Katie and Kevin are taking things one day at a time, incredibly thankful for lifesaving care provided by doctors at SickKids.
“Liam’s journey has given us a whole new appreciation for life and for our family,” says Katie, who six months ago gave birth to her third child, a second sister for Liam. “This is the challenge that God has presented us with and we will do everything we can to give him a fighting chance.”
An avid writer, Katie has kept meticulous journals and scrapbooks documenting the family’s life over the past several years. Liam’s favourite pastime? Looking at photos of his journey with his Mom. They are truly a snapshot of one strong-willed warrior.
Liam was recently featured in the SickKids marketing campaign, called ‘Better Tomorrows’, a series of 45 videos featuring real patients and staff that aired in November and December of last year. The campaign aimed to encourage the community to “help make their tomorrow as good as your today.”
