A FERMANAGH MLA has opened up about the frightening early days of her baby daughter’s life as part of a campaign to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease.
Clabby woman Deborah Erskine, a DUP representative for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, described her daughter Olivia as a “wee heart warrior” after the newborn required repeated treatment for a serious heart rhythm condition within days of being born.
Olivia, the politician’s first child, arrived eight weeks early last September. Within her first week of life, doctors were forced to perform a cardioversion — a procedure which uses a defibrillator to restore a normal heart rhythm.
In total, the defibrillator was used 13 times before Olivia’s heart rate stabilised. She was later diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), a condition that causes an abnormally fast heart rhythm.
Deborah had enjoyed a relatively healthy pregnancy, but at 29 weeks she was told there was a problem with her baby’s heart and was closely monitored by medical staff.
Deborah said: “My daughter Olivia was born eight weeks early. She was sent straight to neonatal intensive care and was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), a condition that causes an abnormally fast heart rhythm.”
Following her early arrival, Olivia was cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital before later being transferred to the Clark Clinic in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
“In the first week of her life, the defibrillator was used on Olivia 13 times,” admits Deborah.
“It was a really distressing time for me and my husband as we navigated all the emotions around being overjoyed with her birth, to managing our anxiety around Olivia’s health and development.
“With SVT, Olivia’s heart can beat as fast as 270 bpm and she was also diagnosed with atrial flutter, an abnormal heart rhythm which causes her heart to beat too quickly.”
During the difficult period following Olivia’s diagnosis, the couple were given information by their consultant to help them better understand the condition.
Deborah said: “When we got that diagnosis, we were given a booklet compiled by the British Heart Foundation to explain to us as parents what SVT was and what it would look like going forward.
“That gave us great hope knowing that it wasn’t going to be a life sentence for Olivia.
“We have a wee heart warrior in Olivia and we’re absolutely delighted with her, she’s doing really well.”
Deborah emphasised the importance of support for families living with cardiovascular disease and the need for continued research funding.
She added: “It’s so important that there is continued support and funding of cardiovascular research to be able to make sure that things are better for the likes of Olivia and the generations that come after her.”
