‘He’s a little fighter’: Micah Ball’s battle to live as mother starts GoFundMe

A “little fighter” who survived open heart surgery at two-days-old and multiple operations since, faces more trauma and costly care after his mum moved from Central Qld to Brisbane to be by his side.

Chelsea Marie Ball and son Micah are both lucky to be alive.

At just 11 weeks old Micah Ball has survived more medical trauma than many will experience in a lifetime.

Born on Australia Day this year at 31 weeks and three days gestation to Gladstone mum Chelsea Marie Ball who was suffering from preeclampsia, Micah was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA).

The serious and rare congenital heart defect is caused when two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed.

The diagnosis was a shock for his first-time mum who like most people had never heard of TGA.

“It sounds really scary,” she said.

“It doesn’t really have very much description in the title so when I first heard of it, I was terrified.

“I thought there would be a very large possibility I would lose my baby.”

The first weeks have been torturous for mother and baby who have not been able to enjoy the comfort and joy of what is often known as the newborn bubble.

“It’s been a really hard few months,” Ms Ball said.

“He (Micah) had his first heart surgery when he was two days old.”

Chelsea Marie Ball with little son Micah

That surgery included inserting a balloon into his heart to keep a hole, which naturally closes up as a baby is born, open.

It was one of many operations.

“He’s had five trips to the theatre,” Ms Ball said.

“He had the balloon surgery at two-days old, he had open heart surgery where they did the switch (of the arteries and vessels and closing of the holes in his heart that aren’t supposed to be open) when he was six weeks old…five days after that is when they closed his chest, they actually left his chest completely open for five days.

“So, they closed his chest and his sternum. He’s also had multiple trips to (an operating) theatre for internal lines that go through the heart.”

Along with enduring the surgeries, Micah also had to take specialised drugs to keep his body functioning as normally as possible.

Though TGA is repairable by surgery Ms Ball said a lot of children who suffered from the disease also had other disease-related complications.

“It takes a toll on other organs in the body,” she said.

“So, my son has a clot in the brain. He has also gone through meningitis, all sorts of bacterial infections…he’s currently going through a lot of liver testing because his liver is not working properly due to the effect of the TGA, the lack of blood flow through his body and also the medications he was on.”

Currently Micah and his mother reside at Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Chelsea Marie Ball’s son Micah has survived multiple surgeries in his short time on Earth.

That both of them are still alive is a miracle not only because of Micah’s premature birth and heart condition but because Ms Ball hemorrhaged which lead to the necessity for an early delivery to save both of their lives.

She had to be flown from Gladstone to Brisbane by the Royal Flying Doctors where Micah was born two days later.

“Everything happened very suddenly,” Ms Ball said.

“One day I was at home in Gladstone living my life, being pregnant and getting ready for a baby shower then I was flown to Brisbane.”

Like many regional parents whose child has been born with a serious illness, Ms Ball decided to permanently relocate to Brisbane in order to be closer to the medical facilities that could better cater to Micah’s condition.

She said the whole situation, from the traumatic birth to Micah’s diagnosis, to making the decision to move had been incredibly hard.

“It’s taken a toll,” she said.

“It's definitely hard being away from where you call home.

“Watching my little baby boy go through surgeries and being poked and prodded every day is hard.

“We have been in hospital for the last two and a half months, with still a few more months to go.”

To help with ongoing costs and the future permanent move to Brisbane, Ms Ball has started a GoFundMe page with the aim to raise $2800.

“It took me a while for me to actually go through with the GoFundMe,” she said.

“For me the support from a GoFundMe would mean that, not knowing the possibilities that he is going to come out of hospitals with - he may come with a feeding tube, he may come with expensive medication - and in this day and age it is really hard to live a basic life and having a baby with extra needs and complex health issues, that extra support will mean he can have the best life I can give him.”

Another reason behind the GoFundMe is Ms Ball’s desire to raise awareness for TGA.

“There is a lot of people who don’t know about a lot of complex heart conditions that babies can be born with that just happens,” she said.

“It's not from doing drugs or drinking alcohol or doing anything like that during pregnancy.

“I feel that people need to be a bit more aware.”

In the meantime, Micah continues to be an inspiration.

“He’s been through the most I’ve seen anyone go through and he is 11 weeks old and he is a little fighter, and he still smiles,” she said.

Originally published as ‘He’s a little fighter’: Micah Ball’s battle to live as mother starts GoFundMe