Donegal Mum's plea for support as she fights to give unborn baby Theo the best chance at life

A Donegal mother whose unborn son has a very serious heart condition has taken to gofundme in a desperate plea for help.

Elena Sweeney from Frosses has been told that as soon as her son is born he will be rushed to Crumlin for emergency heart surgery.

The 31-year-old woman already has another son, Lukas, who suffers from ADHD and autism. She moved home from Albania in November to give unborn baby Theo the best chance at life. Unfortunately, Ms Sweeney’s husband was denied an emergency visa and he remains in Albania.

While this decision is being appealed, Ms Sweeney finds herself unable to make ends meet as she cares for Lukas and attends frequent medical appointments in Letterkenny and Dublin.

Ms Sweeney took to the fundraising platform gofundme.com in the hope that people would be in a position to help her out. To date, she has raised €1,275 but needs more to get herself and her family through the difficult months ahead. 

She said: “I was residing in Albania up until November 2 this year. 

“While there me and my husband had been trying for our second child. We found out in May that we were expecting and we were over the moon with joy. Everything was going well and we were so excited.”

Lukas was delighted when his parents told him that he was going to have a little brother or sister. 

At their four-month scan, Ms Sweeney and her husband found out that they were expecting a boy, and they were pleased that all seemed to be going well.

However, the next scan told a different story.

Ms Sweeney said: “We went for our 20 week scan and I couldn't wait to see my baby and hear his little heart beat. 

“While there the doctor noticed that something was off with his heart and he told us we would need to have an emergency ecocardiogram, so he sent us to another city to a specialist doctor. 

“I was so nervous not knowing what it could be, but while in there they told us that the left side of our son's heart was not working. He told us there was a 10% chance of life and my heart and my husband's heart broke instantly. 

“He told us that the best option was to terminate the pregnancy as it would end any suffering for the baby.

“We drove home in tears and we were so unsure of what was best to do. So I contacted my family in Ireland and had days of crying and meltdowns. 

“We decided to return to Ireland as the hospitals are much more advanced and could maybe offer another option.”

An application was made for Ms Sweeney’s husband to get an emergency visa. In the meantime, she and Lukas travelled back to Ireland where her mother and sister arranged accommodation. 

“First I went to Letterkenny University Hospital and registered,” she said. “They decided it was best to go to Holles Street in Dublin to get a diagnosis scan done. 

“So off I went to Dublin, and let me just say the staff and doctors there were absolutely amazing. I went in frightened and I was so nervous but I had also built myself up thinking the doctors in Albania could have been wrong. 

“That just came as a bigger blow when I realised it was actually worse than what they had told me. As he was now a few weeks further on, it was more clear for them to tell what was wrong.

“So me and my mother sat down with a room full of doctors. Among them was the main heart surgeon. He turned to me and told me that this was an extremely bad diagnosis and I should not hope for much. I immediately broke down.”

The diagnosis was critical aortic stenosis with severe EFE and severe LV dysfunction, with a number of other smaller issues. 

Ms Sweeney explained: “What this means is that his whole left side of his heart is unable to function. 

“It had built up a wall of muscle that would not allow the heart to pump and it had hardened so much that it was not moving at all. 

“He also has severe narrowing of the aortic valve and there is no blood passing through at all.

“My heart sank and I just could not believe that this was happening to my baby boy.

“The doctor informed me that when I have the section to have my son in the first week of February, he will be rushed to Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin to have emergency heart surgery.”

It was at that point that Ms Sweeney realised that she really needed help from the wider community if she was to get her family through this extremely difficult time. 

“I am really broken and I really need support,” she said. “I am on social welfare; my husband is stuck in Albania after being denied his emergency visa. We have applied for an appeal due to the severity of this situation but who knows how long that will take. 

“I am lost in a world where I can no longer afford to get to hospital appointments every week in Dublin and Letterkenny and I can't even afford to buy clothes for the baby. 

“I am in such a bad situation my mental health feels so low. I have pleaded with other companies that are supposed to help you in these situations but no one has come forward to help me.

“I am not a person who would usually ask for help. But in this situation I am currently on my last leg.

“I have a few weeks more of this hard and emotional journey to go until baby Theo is welcomed into the world.

“If anyone could help it would be wonderful. It doesn't need to be money, it could be baby clothes or baby items they no longer need. Every tiny bit helps.”

Ms Sweeney is also asking people to pray for her precious unborn son.

“Please bring light to baby Theo and pray everything will be OK,” she said.

More information, updates and the links to make a donation or to contact Ms Sweeney can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-theo-have-a-better-chance