Brave Paisley boy with rare heart condition who defied incredible odds wins award

A brave boy with a rare heart condition who has defied all odds to survive has been honoured with a special Young Heart Hero Award.

Before he was born, Reuben Foster, from Paisley, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a condition in which the left side of the heart hasn’t grown enough. However, he went on to defy incredible odds including surviving cardiac arrest at seven weeks old and undergoing open heart surgery three times.

Now four, Reuben is proud of his “zip” which he calls his heart surgery scar and is living his life to the limit. He has now received ­recognition from the British Heart Foundation for his strength and bravery, the Sunday Mail reports.

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Mum Rebecca, 27, said: “To say we are proud of Reuben is the biggest ­understatement ever. He is so proud of his zip and special heart and makes every room he walks into light up.

“He is full of energy, like a normal heart-healthy child, I don’t know where he gets his strength from.”

The football-mad, boisterous youngster is delighted to have recently started school. It was a milestone mum Rebecca and dad Jordan, 30, thought they might never see.

Rebecca said: “His odds of making it to starting school were only 50 per cent because of how ill he was, but he has proved everyone wrong.”

Alongside his parents and sister Gabriella, two, Reuben was one of 15 children from across Britain who travelled to Chessington Zoo last Friday for a ceremony hosted by The O-Twins, to celebrate their stories of endurance and hope.

Reuben’s condition was ­diagnosed at the 20-week scan.

Born four weeks early in January 2020, the family drove to London’s St Thomas Hospital where specialists were better equipped to deal with Reuben’s condition. Too small for his first of three planned heart surgeries, at two days old he had other life-saving interventions, and at just over a month old Reuben had his first open-heart surgery.

The family returned home but on their first ever day out – to Braehead Shopping Centre – seven-week-old Reuben went into cardiac arrest.

He arrived for resuscitation at nearby Glasgow ­Children’s Hospital with seconds to spare. Rebecca said: “I still get goosebumps thinking of that day. Holding Reuben in my arms whilst Jordan drove as fast and safely to the hospital was the scariest moment of my life.

“I thought my tiny baby was going to pass in my arms.”

Following a seizure in Glasgow, he was airlifted back down to London where Reuben fought off sepsis before his second open-heart surgery during lockdown, at four months old.

Reuben then suffered a major haemorrhage and Rebecca and Jordan were told to prepare for the worst.

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Surgeons found a big blockage in Reuben’s left ­pulmonary artery. However he then turned a corner and in February, had his third planned open-heart surgery and has recovered well.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the British Heart Foundatio n, said: “It was such a privilege to meet outstanding children like Reuben and his family.

“I am in awe of what our extraordinary young heroes have been through.”

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