Meet Josh, the 1-in-50,000 boy whose heart skips a beat

ELEVEN-MONTH-OLD Josh Martin cries when he sees adults dressed in white.
They are a reminder of the many major operations he has endured in his short life – including a one-in-50,000 procedure to insert a pacemaker into his tiny chest.

Josh was born with a congenital heart disease.

The Hocking baby had two rare abnormalities, one in his arteries and the other in his left ventricle, which stopped half of his heart from working.

At eight weeks old Josh had his first open-heart operation – a four-hour ordeal at Princess Margaret Hospital to increase the amount of oxygen reaching his lungs.

“I felt so helpless,” Josh’s mother, Jodi, told The Sunday Times. “Josh was taken to intensive care after the surgery and he just looked so tiny. He was covered in wires and tubes and only machines were keeping him alive.

Josh went home six days after the operation but, Mrs Martin said, he was in a lot of pain. “It felt like I had a newborn again,” she said. “He didn’t like to be touched or even looked at by strangers. Every time he coughed, yawned or hiccupped he would be in tears.”

In February, PMH pediatric cardiologist Luigi D’Orsogna found Josh’s heart was missing every second beat. It had a blockage that was putting Josh’s life at risk by restricting blood flow.

Dr D’Orsogna fitted Josh with a pacemaker – an operation that only one in 50,000 babies needs. The pacemaker helped Josh’s heart beat if it dropped below 60 beats a minute.

Josh had a second open- heart operation in May.

This time doctors completely reworked the “plumbing” in and around his heart. After the six-hour operation, a potentially-fatal blood clot formed.

Mrs Martin and husband, Neal, thought they were going to lose Josh.

“It was like I was having an outer-body experience,” Mrs Martin said.

The clot was removed and Josh is recovering well, getting stronger.

Heartkids WA is asking West Australians to hold morning or afternoon teas to raise money for children like Josh.

To find out more click here to go to the Cuppa for HeartKids website.