Scottish Independent Media

By Claire Elliot

A BABY boy born with his stomach in his chest, a hole in his heart, and a rare lung disorder is being kept alive - with the help of impotence drug Viagra.

Little Owen Bloomfield was not expected to survive a week as a result of his complex condition.

 His parents Ronnie Bloomfield and Jennifer Strachan were told their son was so ill that switching of his life support machine might be the only option.

But three weeks on and against all the odds, the tot has amazed medical staff by his remarkable recovery.

Following major surgery to put his organs back in the right places, he is now starting to breathe on his own and is responding to medication, including Viagra.

There is a chance, however, that if his lung disorder does not improve accordingly he will remain on the impotence drug for life.

Mr Bloomfield, 24, of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, said: “I thought it was an old man’s drug.

 “But Owen gets it every four hours. He has pulmonary hypertension and he’s given it to open up the blood vessels in
his lungs and lower his blood pressure.”

 Owen was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), which left him with an incomplete diaphragm - the breathing muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities.

 As a result his stomach, intestines, part of his liver, and his spleen formed in his chest. He also has two extra spleens, although only one of them works.

 In addition he has a hole in his heart, which has yet to be corrected, and pulmonary hypertension, a rare and life-threatening blood vessel disorder of the lungs.

Miss Strachan was dealt the devastating news that her son had CDH, which occurs in just one in every 2,500 births, at her 22 week scan.
 

But the additional heart and lung complications did not become apparent until 6lb 7oz Owen arrived a week early as planned at Glasgow’s Queen Mother’s Hospital on July 23.

Miss Strachan, a trained beauty therapist, said: “The doctors said they had only known of one or two babies to survive with all three complications and if he didn’t start to pick up in a week we’d have to think about turning his medication
off and letting him go peacefully.

“That was on the Tuesday and on the Wednesday he started to pick up.”

Owen is still on a ventilator to aid his breathing but he is responding to treatment.

But his mum said as he is on so much morphine, every time the doctors try to reduce the dozes he starts fitting.
 

“It’s horrible,” she said. “It’s like taking heroine away from a heroine addict.”
 

Miss Strachan suffered a miscarriage just three months before she found out she was pregnant with Owen on her 22nd birthday last November.
 

She said: “When I had my 12 week scan I was chuffed because I thought everything was fine and nothing else could go wrong.
 

“Then at 22 weeks they told me he had CDH. I had never heard of it before and when they explained what it was I just started crying.”
 

For the rest of her pregnancy she had scans every three weeks to check how the baby was developing.

 She also had tests done to see if her son had other conditions such as Down’s syndrome.

 At one point she was told she may even have to terminate the baby if the condition was so severe.
 

She now spends seven hours at a time by her son’s cot in the neonatal intensive care unit at Glasgow's Yorkhill Hospital, as he battles for survival
 

“It’s hard seeing him lying there like that,” she said.
 

“But when I speak to him he seems to know because his eyes follow you.
 

“I can’t wait to pick him up and give him a cuddle.
 

“When he was born they put him on my belly and he was balling his eyes out. But I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want to touch him, I was too scared.”
 

She added: “The first two weeks were a nightmare. It was just bad news after bad news. But he is doing good now and I wouldn’t change him for the world.”
 

When he was in the womb he was given just a 50/50 chance of survival.
 

That percentage plummeted when he was born with the additional heart and lung complications.
 

And he was not expected to pull through the three-hour operation to put his organs back in the correct places.
 

Miss Strachan said: “The three hours of his operation were the worst three of my life because we were told he could die on the operating table.
 

“I just thought: ‘Oh my God, it’s all going to go wrong’ because we have seen some babies in here who haven’t made it through the operation.

“But the doctors have said now there is no reason why he won’t survive.”

Mr Bloomfield, added: “It’s been a real rollercoaster. You don’t know how to feel, your emotions are all over the
place.
 

“The first week was the worst and he still has his ups and downs. But since his operation he has been a wee star.
 

“I’m just glad the nurses and doctors have done all they can and he has got through to this stage.
 
“I wouldn’t wish what we’re going through on my worst enemy.”
 
To help raise funds for other neo-natal and CDH babies, Mr Bloomfield, a bodybuilder, recently took part in a sponsored truck pull, helping to haul a 16-tonne lorry more than 20 meters.