Ashleigh lost the feeling in her feet and legs and also lost her voice from
being in intensive care for such a length of time, with her breathing tube
in. She began to recover and get physiotherapy for her legs. She was then
taken to HDU and very swiftly to the ward.
She was known as the miracle. After evaluation she asked to go home and
after much debate she finally came home. She seemed fantastic after a couple
of hard, difficult months. She then turned 20 years old on the 7th of July
2008 and all seemed great - she was getting back to her good old self.
Approximately around the 20th July she began to feel ill and shaky and had
tingling sensation in her hands. She was taken into hospital to be
monitored and then her cardiologist asked her to be moved on the 22nd to
Glasgow so that he could watch over her care and keep a close eye on her.
She just seemed tired from the trip and then she deteriorated and went into
cardiac arrest. They tried to revive her but she didn't make it.
I just want Ashleigh's brave fight to be known to
everyone, and as she had her story on your website I thought her sad
but brave miracle should be known.
Natasha Hughes - Ashleigh's little sister
Ashleigh originally contacted CRY in 2007 as she wished to share her
experiences of SVT:
"Hi. I thought I would find the time to tell you my
story and give you some updates on my condition! I'm such a busy girl!
Well where do I start? When I was 11 the doctor
heard "a funny noise" in my heart. They thought it was a murmur so sent me
for an ECHO of my heart, where they discovered I had a hole in my heart in
between the 2 valves, and had to have it repaired.
Everything was fine for a couple of years - regular check-ups and medication
until my heart had fully repaired. Then, playing hockey for my school became
harder and harder. I thought I was just unfit and so did my coach, but it
was only on the off chance of mentioning it to my doctor that he
investigated it!
After a year or so, the doctors at Glasgow
Yorkhill Children's Hospital diagnosed me with SVT - Supraventricular
Tachycardia - and Epstein's Anomaly. In the past 2 years, I have had 4
radio frequency ablations
which have unfortunately been unsuccessful!
Despite all of this I am at Edinburgh University
doing Primary Teaching, and am fast approaching my second year. Living with
this is hard and sometimes very stressful and upsetting, but at the end of
the day you just have to live with something until you can get it sorted!
I would like to say that I am living a normal student life but unfortunately
I don't. I can't drink and dance due to my heart condition and SVT -
and the tablets I'm on make me worse! At the moment I am in talks with
my doctor about getting a Glenn's procedure done to correct my Epstein's and
which will hopefully sort out my SVT! We will wait and see I suppose!
I just wanted to write this because there are other people living with this,
and even though I'm one of those unlucky people with Epstein's Anomaly
(which affects less than 1% of patients with congenital heart problems)
heart conditions don't have to ruin your life!
I just think of myself as being special that's
all - although some people think that's because of my small brain size! But
what I lack in brain I make up with it with my huge heart!
SMILE :) xxxxx "
