Making a difference

After losing one of his twin baby boys to a fatal heart condition, Paul is now running the London Marathon and supporting Sparks through his employer, Brookfield Multiplex, to help more babies in the future.

When Paul and his wife Sarah were expecting twins, they were told that one of the babies would be born with a mild heart condition. The doctors were reasonably confident that it could be treated.

Much earlier than expected on 9th October 2006 the twin boys, George and Oliver were delivered by caesarean at just 32 weeks and George was taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) when he was just a few hours old. Oliver remained in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Wycombe Hospital as both boys’ weights were low due to their premature arrival.

Unexpected complications

George’s condition was more complicated than doctors had predicted during the pregnancy. He was put on a life support machine but sadly after a few days, new parents Paul and Sarah were told there was nothing more the hospital could do for their baby. His heart wasn’t strong enough for him to survive.

In consultation with the GOSH cardiac team, the couple made the difficult decision to take George off life support and were able to take him back to Wycombe Hospital to be with his twin brother, Oliver. As soon as the twin babies were placed together they reached out for each other’s hands.

13 hours later George passed away in Sarah’s arms at just nine days old. Paul and Sarah were devastated, struggling to cope with the loss of George whilst still worrying over Oliver putting on sufficient weight to leave hospital.

Five years on

Oliver is now five years old, started school in September and doing well, the couple are also parents to three-year-old Henry. Paul says, “From the jubilation of having George and Oliver to suddenly being faced with the most precious thing in your life being taken away from you was crushing. We miss him hugely but comforted in the fact he is no longer in pain. Whilst Sparks can never bring George back, we hope their research can help others and we fully encourage everyone to raise money for this fantastic and worthy charity. ”

At Sparks we want to prevent other parents going through what Paul and Sarah did.

We are currently funding research into a range of medical conditions that affect children, babies and mums-to-be. One of these projects is investigating the possibility of a sensitive test for congenital heart disease. The test will be done during pregnancy and will help doctors to deliver timely and potentially life-saving treatment when the baby is born.

Help us to save lives

You can join our mission and sponsor Paul in his 2012 London marathon here

Sparks research

We are researching the potential for an improved test for congenital heart disease in unborn babies. Find out more about the project here or alternatively read more about congenital heart disease