Viewers left ‘heart-broken’ after newborn baby dies following emergency heart surgery in moving NHS documentary
- Last night’s episode followed Alder Hey Children’s Hospital’s cardiac unit
- Casey-Jack needed surgery soon after he was born to repair a hole in his heart
- Despite a successful operation, he never recovered from the deadly birth defect
- Viewers described the ending as ‘terribly sad’ and ‘a punch in the stomach’
- They also praised the surgeons and NHS staff, saying ‘not all heroes wear capes’
Hospital ended with ‘heart-breaking’ scenes last night when viewers found out a newborn baby never recovered from his emergency heart surgery.
Casey-Jack, who featured in the BBC Two documentary, needed heart surgery soon after he was born because he had a hole in his heart and a damaged artery.
Despite surgeons operating on his heart, which they said was no bigger than a strawberry, he couldn’t recover and died last year when he was just two months old.
Viewers tweeted about their upset after learning about the infant’s death, which was revealed at the end of the hour-long programme.
They called the episode ‘heart-breaking’ and ‘terribly sad’, commending his parents for sharing their tragic story.
Casey-Jack needed heart surgery soon after he was born to repair a hole in his heart and an underdeveloped major artery, but he never recovered from the drastic operation
Last night’s episode, the fourth in the six-part series, followed the children’s heart surgery unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Casey-Jack, one of the three children whose stories it revealed, was born with a hypoplastic aortic arch.
This meant he had an underdeveloped aorta – the main artery out of the heart – and a hole in a vital part of the organ.
Doctors discovered the heart defect when his mother – Charlotte – had her 20 week scan.
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On the programme, while she and her partner Mark, Casey-Jack’s father, are waiting for their son to have surgery, Charlotte said: ‘You don’t realise how much time, effort and love you have for one person.
‘[It’s] been rough. Up and down – there are days when you [go] what did I do wrong?’
Mark had ‘always wanted a child of his own’, Charlotte said on the programme, and ‘it hit him hard’ when he found out his son was seriously ill.
In the end credits of the programme it was revealed that, despite the surgery being successful, Casey-Jack did not recover and died of heart failure two months after he was born.
Twitter user Steve Shilling described the ending as a ‘punch in the stomach’.
Julie Smith said: ‘What a beautiful little boy … R.I.P. Casey-Jack. Condolences to his family.’
Lauren Fordham added: ‘Poor Casey-Jack’s family, if only every kid got the happy ending they deserve.’
Casey-Jack’s mother, Charlotte, revealed she had days where she thought ‘what did I do wrong?’ when she discovered her baby son had a congenital heart defect
Casey-Jack’s father, Mark, had ‘always wanted a child of his own’, Charlotte said on the programme, and ‘took it hard’ when he found out his son was seriously ill
Twitter user Steve Shilling described the ending as a ‘punch in the stomach’
Alice Pennington tweeted: ‘Such a heart-breaking end. Thoughts with Casey-Jack’s family’
Ian Massey said: ‘Terribly sad to hear that little Casey-Jack lost his battle at the end of tonight’s episode of #hospital’
Julie Smith said: ‘What a beautiful little boy … R.I.P. Casey-Jack. Condolences to his family’
Lauren Fordham added: ‘Poor Casey-Jack’s family, if only every kid got the happy ending they deserve’
When the episode had aired, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital tweeted a picture of Casey-Jack accompanied by a message from his family who praised staff at the Liverpool unit
Professor Cathy Lloyd, an Open University academic involved in the programme thanked Casey-Jack’s family for allowing themselves to be filmed for the show
Alice Pennington tweeted: ‘Such a heart-breaking end. Thoughts with Casey-Jack’s family.’
And Ian Massey said: ‘Terribly sad to hear that little Casey-Jack lost his battle at the end of tonight’s episode of #hospital.’
When the episode had aired, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital tweeted a message from the family.
The tweet read: Casey-Jack’s parents, Charlotte, Mark & brothers Andrew and Simon wanted to pass on a message to our incredible staff who cared for him; “We want to thank the amazing team at Alder Hey who made us feel like part of an extended family. The team’s dedication is faultless”‘.
Professor Cathy Lloyd, an Open University academic involved in the programme added: ‘Thank you to Casey-Jack and his family for allowing us into their lives at such a difficult time.’
As well as sadness at the family’s ordeal, viewers were also quick to compliment the surgeons and staff on the programme.
One of the surgeons featured, Dr Ramana Dhannapuneni, 51, revealed the difficulties of the job, including his 14-hour days and spending so much time away from his family.
Referring to what Dr Dhannapuneni said on the programme, Bruce Hiscock tweeted: ‘Time lost to family is better invested for somebody else #hospital cardiac surgeon describes amazing attitude to his [work life balance].
‘Words do not do justice to these wonderful people.’
User SarahMissAtomicBomb said: ‘Staff working tirelessly caring for children despite the horrific situation of the NHS crisis, not all heroes wear capes’.
Susan Gilbert said: ‘As ever am in awe of the dedication and brilliance of cardiac surgeons and nurses at Alder Hey’.
And @Being_Caroline added: ‘I have total respect for the exceptionally talented surgeons and hardworking and dedicated staff there. What an amazing job you all do.’
Hospital continues next Thursday, February 7, on BBC Two at 9pm.
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