Heart op tot family in charity quest

Emma Doherty and John Baldwin with 11-month-old Bobby

Little Bobby Baldwin was born with a condition called major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs), meaning blood can’t pump round his body because he has no arteries between the heart and lungs.

His parents Emma Doherty and John Baldwin, of Worsley Mesnes, fear he could die at any moment and even if he has heart surgery, doctors say the 11-month-old is unlikely to survive past his teens.

Emma, 29, said: “Bobby has MAPCAs, three major holes in his heart, pulmonary atresia and narrowing of left arteries, as well as an oversized heart.

“Only his MAPCAs has been treated but as he grows he needs more open hearts surgeries, plus everything else fixing.

“At only six weeks old Bobby had major surgery on his heart, diaphragm and stomach surgery and we spent nearly four months in Alder Hey.

“Seven weeks of that was in intensive care.

“My son could die any day.

“His oxygen levels are 70 per cent and his arteries are closing.

“We cannot feed him at home and he can’t have oxygen because it would put too much pressure on his heart.

“He could have a blood clot, heart attack or cardiac arrest at any point.

“He needs four more open heart surgeries but even then he would only live until he was a teenager.

“He is behind in his development and wheezes a lot.

“We can’t take him out in case he picks up an infection.

“We go for a MRI scan on May 16 and doctors will plan our next move.”

Emma and John are now planning a 3km safari walk at Knowsley Safari Park on May 22 to raise money for Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool.

Emma, who had to give up her job at Asda to look after Bobby, said: “The people of Wigan have been so supportive.

“We want to give something back to Alder Hey as we have spent so much time there and they have cared for Bobby really well.

“The staff there have saved Bobby’s life and given us more time with him, so we want to do all we can to help them.”

To support Bobby visit donate to www.justgiving.com/Emma-Doherty2 and to follow his journey visit Bobby’s bravery on Facebook.