Mackay mum Robyn Quakawoot talks about her son Charlie’s battle with congenital heart disease
It’s a deadly condition that takes the lives of four people each week and a young Mackay boy with a big heart is taking on a 4km walk to bring some awareness. Read his story.
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Robyn Quakawoot found out her son Charlie had a possibly deadly condition at a 28-week pregnancy check up.
In what the Mackay mum described as a “pretty scary” moment, the midwife detected an elevated heart rate and Robyn was taken to Mackay Base Hospital.
“I was not really sure what exactly was going wrong,” she said.
“I knew he had a fast heart rate, but I did not know why or what that meant.
“The doctors came and they just double checked his heart rate and then they sent me through for an ultrasound where they could see the heart a bit better and get a better reading.
“I was told to go to Townsville straight away.”
Her parents drove her up to see a doctor with more specialised skills in the area.
She would spend a week in the city “getting his heart rate back down again” before returning to Mackay.
She went back to Townsville for the birth and little Charlie came into the world at 39 weeks.
Just before Charlie’s birth, the doctors once again detected an elevated heart rate and so Robyn underwent an emergency caesarian on January 31, 2019.
On Charlie’s fifth day in the world, he had his first supraventricular tachycardia episode.
“When his heart rate just jumps up to the high 200s, low 300s (beats per minute),” Robyn said.
She said he was not in pain, but “drowsy”.
“His little heart was working so hard,” she said.
Charlie spent two weeks in Townsville before being flown to Brisbane for further treatment at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.
According to Health Direct, congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in Australia and affects about 1 in 100 babies.
A baby is born with the condition when the heart or the large blood vessels around the heart do not form properly.
Charlie’s case of SVT did not require surgery, though Robyn met with mothers at the hospital going through their own “hell”.
“People were very sensitive and caring,” she said.
“Especially at the hospital, even other parents would come over and comfort you, even though they were going through hell themselves in the next bed over.
“They had babies who had to have open heart surgery and they were just days old.
“I guess you saw the best of people.”
Charlie, now nearly four years old, is healthy and growing and Robyn said he had a bright future.
“He is lucky enough to have something that can be controlled by medication,” she said.
This year, Charlie is the HeartKids ambassador for the organisation’s 4km charity walk starting at Old Mulherin Park in Mackay.
The 4km figure symbolises the four people whose lives are lost each week to congenital heart disease.
Robyn, who is now 36 and also has a daughter named Summer, said Charlie was excited about acting as ambassador.
“From what he understands of it,” she said with a laugh.
“I just have to speak on his behalf.
“He is very active, doesn’t like to have too many naps, he doesn’t like to miss out on anything.
“He loves his family, he goes to daycare three days a week and he just loves that as well, playing with the other kids.”
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