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Abbi HollandLittle British girl whose bruised knee on the playground led to open heart surgery
Country:
 Great Britain |
A Biography of Abby Holland
Abby Holland is a young British girl who underwent open-heart surgery at the age of four after injuring her knee on a playground. When she was three years old, Abby fell on a playground and her caretaker failed to properly clean her scraped knee, leading to a life-threatening infection. Abby was immediately taken to the hospital where she spent the next four months fighting for her life.
Now seven years old, Abby is still recovering from the serious surgery that was performed to save her life. She suffered from a lack of aortic valve seal due to bacteria entering her young body through a simple scratch. Despite the success of the procedure, Abby will have to take certain medications, such as anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs, for the rest of her life, and future heart surgeries may be necessary.
Abby's mother, 37-year-old Kate, and father, 43-year-old Dave, have decided to launch a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of providing basic first aid to prevent others from experiencing the same fate. Dave Holland stated, "You just can't imagine that something like this could happen from a fall on a playground. When you realize that such a simple and small thing can change your whole life, you start to look at everything differently."
In 2013, Abby received initial treatment at North Manchester General Hospital before being transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where a scan revealed an infection in the knee wound. This infection led to problems with the sealing of the aortic valve. Abby fought hard against the infection, but her body reacted severely to any antibiotics that doctors attempted to use. Ultimately, she was hospitalized and transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where her parents were informed that surgery was necessary to save Abby's life.
Dave Holland says, "We were told that the doctors were going to stop our little girl's heart, and there were no guarantees that it would start beating again. It was just horrifying." Furthermore, doctors did not hide the fact that even if the surgery was successful, there was a chance Abby's brain could be affected.
The Holland family is not seeking to criticize or blacklist anyone. Their current focus is to raise awareness about the importance of basic first aid. Dave added, "Such an ordinary event led to such serious consequences...And we just don't want to hear again that someone is going through the same thing as our Abby."
Abby's life has been forever changed, and as she grows older, she will require further surgery. The family, which includes four other children, hopes to raise funds to purchase toys for the pediatric department at North Manchester General Hospital, where Abby received care. Aortic valve replacement is a type of open-heart surgery that is necessary to correct various problems with the aortic valve.
These problems can worsen over time, and in severe cases, can lead to heart failure and other life-threatening complications in the absence of treatment. The aortic valve is one of the heart valves that prevents blood from flowing back into the left ventricle during diastole.
During aortic valve replacement, the faulty or damaged valve is removed and replaced with a new valve made of synthetic materials or animal tissues. It is a serious operation that is not suitable for everyone. The most serious complications after the implantation of a new valve are thromboembolic events.
To prevent thromboembolic complications, lifelong antithrombotic therapy, which involves taking blood-thinning medications, is required.
