Coventry mum is ‘forever grateful’ for son’s ‘life saver’ after heart transplant

A Coventry mother has spoken of her tears – of joy and pain – after her son finally had the heart transplant he desperately needed. Louis O’Brien-Smith had been waiting since the end of February at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The 21-year-old was due to have a transplant in April, but it was canceled at the last minute. But his mother Chantelle Speirs told CoventryLive that another donor was found and on May 23 he underwent a ten-hour operation.

Today, Thursday, July 4th, he was due to have a biopsy to check that his body is not rejecting the new heart. It was a bittersweet moment for his mother.

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“We will be forever grateful to the donor and their family,” she said. “There hasn’t been a day since the transplant that he hasn’t been in my thoughts.

“When Louis was in the theater I was not only frantic with worry, almost hysterical at times with the horror of what might be about to happen, I was also acutely aware of a family grieving the loss of a loved one.

“The transplant journey is special, but also a double-edged sword. This transplant, Louis’ new heart means he now has the opportunity to have new hips and be able to walk. It’s something many young people take for granted, but for Louis it wasn’t possible.

“He’s doing well, but we’re describing Louis’ life at the moment as walking the plank, it won’t take long for him to fall. Transplant rejection drugs are crushing patients a bit and right now Louis needs help with his kidneys. dialysis and a problem with a blood clot on the heart.”

But she said he was a “fighter”. As a child, he battled and overcame acute myeloid leukemia, but it caused heart problems.

However, she remains hopeful that her son will eventually be able to get to the point where he can take his beloved dog for a walk. “Hopefully now this is the beginning of a positive new beginning,” she said.

Fundraising

After the transplant, Chantelle said her son was put on a specialized machine called ECMO to help his new heart. His family saw first-hand how vital the machine was and inspired her brother, Riley Canterbury, to undertake a huge fundraiser.

“These machines cost over £100,000,” she explained. “Often the hospital has to rent a car because they don’t have enough.

“This can mean patients wait longer for treatment or even wait in bypass surgery longer until an ECMO is available. My brother decided he wanted to give back to the hospital and help people.”

On Monday, July 15, he will take part in a 24-hour, non-stop, 15-year challenge, and every penny will go towards buying the hospital a new ECMO machine. So far he has raised over £6,000 but is aiming to hit the £10,000 mark.

In addition to the Peaks challenge, many of Louis’ family members, including his uncle, also donated blood as they also saw how vital donations were as Louis had to have a series of blood transfusions.

Anyone who would like to donate to the Peaks challenge can do so via the JustGiving page here

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