Conner Todd  

Hi, my name is Dean Todd & I am married to Christine, we have a wonderful Son called Connor & this is his story.

On Saturday 21st March 1998 at 6:45 PM Connor was born, he was 7lb 11oz , although nothing seemed to go wrong at the birth he had been in a little distress & was a forceps delivery. But although having gone through this ordeal it did not seem to faze him and from the first second he seemed to thrive. Having watched my wife go through labour and see the colour of life painted across my son's body I left them both to get a good nights rest.

I visited them both on Sunday morning with flowers & mothers day cards, he again was thriving & feeding although he had not yet passed any stool , because it had been a long day with lots of visitors and my wife was still exhausted I decided to call it a day and went for a few drinks with my brother.

Late Sunday night around 11:45 I got a phone call from the Special Baby car unit at Barnsley General Hospital telling me not to worry but my son was in the Unit & they needed me in the Unit asap. No one can imagine the trauma I went through attempting to get to the hospital, I was unable to drive as I had been drinking and was also unable to get in touch with a Taxi. Finally I was able to get in touch with a member of my family who was able to give me a lift to the Hospital. Once at the Hospital & the special Baby car unit, I was met at the door by a Doctor who advised that my son had not yet passed the Meconium plug & they where unsure if it was just too sticky? Or if there was anything else wrong.

After an hour or so staring at my Beautiful son in a plastic case we where told that he would have to be transferred by ambulance to the Sheffield Children's Hospital & the Neo Natal unit there. After this terrible journey which seemed like hours we where finally in a place we could get answers, the Surgeon there advised us that he suspected HD but until tests proved conclusive he was not going to commit himself. After a night holding each other we where called into to a room with Tea & sympathy and advised us of Connor's condition - he had indeed HD but until surgery there was no telling if it was Short or Long HD.

After this knowledge we where given a little time alone to try & digest this information but we had been informed that if we wanted anymore information we could speak to anyone. Connor was in Hospital for just over a week & with Daily wash outs he was gaining weight, eating and no longer vomiting in fact but for the undignified site of him with bum in the air having his sometimes explosive wash outs he was just a normal baby.

During the time in the Neo Natal unit there seemed to be several babies all with HD & all with different stories, but nothing could take it away that my Son was suffering & may not survive - I just had the picture in my mind that I would not be taking my Son home! The Hospital where able to supply us with a room so that we could stop over with Connor and with the help of family & friends we coped JUST!

Because Connor was thriving and seemed to coping with the feeds and the washouts and the theatre time was not until the 14th April , we where allowed to take him home as long as I took him back to the hospital every day for his washouts - this would continued until the few days before his operation and we had to get him back for his pre-ops. Once Connor was under the influence and in the operating theatre we had nothing but time. We had been advised that it was a 2/3 hour operation because the surgeon had decided that they would do the pullthrough so there would be no reason for a Stoma as long as he had Short HD. Four hours later my son returned with pipes everywhere but he the piece of Bowel had been removed and it had all been a success - we where told that they he would take around 7/8 days to recover but Connor had his operation on the Tuesday and come the Saturday we where going home.

Connor is now 14 months old and a livelier child you will never meet - long gone are the days that we where happy to see a used Nnppy but when we see the scar across his lower abdomen we count our blessings long and hard!! Although I like to think of myself as a Man's Man and not a religious person I prayed and cried my self to sleep every night until he was home and safe after the operation. In fact several times I was curled up in a ball on the floor sobbing - and in front of people!! We still visit the surgeon every 6 months so that he can check Connor over & all looks okay and the next big step is the Potty training

To all intents & purposes Connor is a normal 14 month old baby boy & unless you are aware of his History you would not think he had gone through so much. He runs around the house like a mad man with toys above his head, he falls & bangs himself quite regularly but picks himself up again.

As he is our first child & I have not been in much contact with other babies then as far as I am concerned he has no problems with eating - anything from Quavers (his favourite), lots of Vegetables & pasta which he loves, to bananas, apples & chocolate. He has regular bowel movements but they are regular as far as Connor is concerned but he has not suffered too much with constipation although at times he does seem to strain! His faeces is either solid or loose but it does not seem to depend on what he eats there is no pattern it just happens that way.

The one thing we have found that can be distressing for him & ourselves is the fact that at times he gets a really sore bum & the only thing that seems to help is a Sticky substance called Metanium!(although don't get it on any clothes) He has a check up every 6 months & the surgeon is very happy & the next visit is in August

As I am sure you are aware its a subject very close to my heart & although there is a little bit of structure it is easier to throw things onto the page as it hurts less