Massimo’s life had barely begun when doctors noticed that something was very wrong. Instead of being a healthy pink, my newborn baby’s skin was bluish and his breathing was laboured. The problem? He had a large hole in his heart and a second malformation called transposition of the great arteries, both of which prevented his heart from sending enough oxygen-rich blood to his body.

Without surgery, Massimo faced certain death. And so, just a few hours after he was born, Massimo was rushed from my arms to an operating room at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

Doctors performed open-heart surgery to temporarily enable more oxygen-rich blood to circulate throughout Massimo’s body, but Dr. Christo Tchervenkov, Director of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Children’s, knew that he would need a more delicate operation to repair the damage permanently.

The hours and days following Massimo’s first operation were hard on us. He spent two-and-a-half weeks in the Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), monitored around the clock by nurses, technicians, respiratory therapists and physicians specialized in critical care. My husband Claudio and I never left his bedside. The NICU became our world, with Massimo at its center.

Then, when Massimo was just five weeks old, he once again began to turn dangerously blue. Dr. Tchervenkov knew there was no choice but to operate: “Without any kind of intervention, I don’t think he would have survived more than another few days to two weeks at the most,” he explained.

Massimo’s father and I knew there was nothing left to do but watch the surgical team carry him into the operation room…yet again.

The diagnosis, surgery and recovery for patients like Massimo requires the talents of more than 100 health professionals, including cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, neonatologists, respiratory therapists, nurses, as well as social workers, nutritionists and pharmacists.

As a mother whose child’s life has been saved, I want you to know that they cannot do it alone. Donors like you provide the resources and expertise that ensures that world-renowned professionals can continue to offer critical care to the youngest and most vulnerable patients. Children just like my son.

Be part of the team that helps the tiniest babies overcome tremendous odds.

Your gift today, means you become a valued member of an incredible team. Thanks to the outstanding medical staff at the Children’s and to donors like you, today Massimo is doing well. But there are many other seriously ill children who still need your help. As Massimo’s father Claudio says, “Don’t think of it as giving away money. Think of it as giving a child a chance to live.”

Please give generously and give these children their chance to live.

Natacha P.
Massimo’s Mother