'I was a healthy 12 year old until a virus attacked my heart' - the youngster whose life was changed forever
A teenager and her family have revealed how a virus almost cost her life - two weeks after she’d fought it and seemed to have recovered.
Kayleigh Llewellyn had flu symptoms in 2019 and was laid in bed for a couple of days.
‘Kayleigh’s heart was functioning at 8 per cent of what it should be’
She recovered and seemed to be on the mend until the dormant virus attacked her heart and left her fighting for life two weeks later.
The full story is told by Kayleigh and her family in a moving episode of the Wearside Echoes podcast, sponsored by Mobility Care Solutions.
Kayleigh’s father Shaun Sidney relived the horror of being told how concerning his daughter’s condition was.
Kayleigh was first taken to hospital in Sunderland but it soon became clear that there was something serious going on.
‘ A fit and healthy youngster with no previous underlying health conditions’
‘At Sunderland, they said they needed to get her to the children’s heart unit at the Freeman as soon as possible and there was a specialist ambulance on the way.”
“We were taken into the parents room at the Freeman and they explained what was happening. Kayleigh’s heart was functioning at 8 per cent of what it should be. They said the worst case scenario is she could need a heart transplant.
“I was thinking ‘you are joking. She was playing football 24 hours earlier.”
Kayleigh had been a fit and healthy youngster with no previous underlying conditions.
‘She was too weak. All her organs were starting to shut down because her heart wasn’t working’
“She wasn’t a kid who sat in the house in front of the TV,” Shaun said. “She loved being outside on her scooter, or she was always playing and kicking a ball about.”
Kayleigh was first kept on a high dependency unit while experts put her on medication for eight days.
Mum Sonia Llewellyn said: “She was too weak. All her organs were starting to shut down because her heart wasn’t working.”
‘They said it was that virus which had laid and attacked her heart’
The cause of Kayleigh’s complete transformation in her health had been because of a virus she caught two weeks earlier, said Sonia.
‘She’d had flu symptoms a couple of weeks before but nothing where you think she needs to go to the doctors.
“She was in bed for two days. She had a bit of a dry, tickly cough but she was still eating and drinking, and she was fine after that. They said it was that virus which had laid and attacked her heart.”
A new era at last
But in November 2019, the beginning of a new era began.
Kayleigh had her transplant that day but only came home in January 2020 after 102 days in hospital. Her full and dramatic story is told on our podcast, including one particularly touching gesture that she made to the family of the girl whose heart she received.’
‘Kayleigh made a recording of her heart beat. She bought a Teddy Bear, put the heart beat in it and sent it’, said Sonia.
Wearside Echoes series 3 is available on all major podcasts platforms and we are delighted to have Mobility Care Solutions on board as our backers.
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If you’ve been looking for a mobility shop or mobility scooters near you, you need look no further. The team at Mobility Care Solutions are on hand to meet all of your mobility aids related needs.
Kayleigh’s story is a tale of heartache, sheer emotion and, eventually, of hope for the future.
People are being urged to confirm their organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or use the NHS app.