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Lifestyle & Human Interest

Baby Miraculously Survives 5-Day Coma Against the Odds, Wakes with Huge Smile

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A family from the U.K. is desperate to bring their baby boy to America for a life-saving heart surgery that is unavailable to them locally.

In March, baby Michael Labuschagne, from Bristol, went into cardiac arrest when he was just 14 weeks old. His parents, Stuart and Emma Labuschagne, watched anxiously as paramedics tried to save their son’s life.

“Words cannot begin to describe the pain we felt in that moment,” his mother wrote on a GoFundMe campaign set up to raise funds for Michael’s medical trip to the U.S.

“We watched our baby breathless, gasping for air while his heart stopped and paramedics worked to save his life. In that moment I did not think Michael would make it through.”

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Michael had gone approximately nine minutes without oxygen and for five long days, was in a coma.

If he did wake up at all, doctors told Stuart and Emma, he likely would not be the same baby.

According to an emotional video Michael’s mother posted to Facebook, only 7 percent of people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but amazingly, baby Michael beat the odds.

After five days, Michael opened his baby brown eyes and flashed a wide, toothless grin at his father.

There was hope for Michael, who was bravely fighting for his little life.

Michael was diagnosed with cardiac fibroma, a tumor attached to the septum within the left chamber of his heart.

The diagnosis is rare — so rare in the U.K. that Michael must make a trip to Boston to undergo surgery with some of the finest pediatric heart surgeons in the world.

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The surgery would drastically improve, if not cure, Michael’s heart condition.

In the meantime, Michael is living with a pacemaker and defibrillator, devices that are buying time for the life-saving surgery he desperately needs.

Stuart and Emma have raised more than the nearly $150,000 U.S. dollars (£116,000) it costs for the surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“The dream is to get him to Boston as soon as we can,” Emma wrote on the GoFundMe campaign.

“Every day we worry if it will be our last with Michael. Please help us to get his tumour removed.”

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A graduate of Grand Canyon University, Kim Davis has been writing for The Western Journal since 2015, focusing on lifestyle stories.
Kim Davis began writing for The Western Journal in 2015. Her primary topics cover family, faith, and women. She has experience as a copy editor for the online publication Thoughtful Women. Kim worked as an arts administrator for The Phoenix Symphony, writing music education curriculum and leading community engagement programs throughout the region. She holds a degree in music education from Grand Canyon University with a minor in eating tacos.
Birthplace
Page, Arizona
Education
Bachelor of Science in Music Education
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Lifestyle & Human Interest




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