BEAMING baby Nathan Byrne is a picture of health – after surgeons stopped his heart for 15 hours to fix four deadly defects.

His parents Lesley Condie and David Byrne were told that he would be in surgery for seven hours, but complications meant the operation took more than twice as long.

The nine-month-old was born with a rare condition called tetralogy of fallot – a combination of problems, including a large hole in his heart and a narrowing of the pulmonary artery.

Without the risky surgery, which meant stopping his thumbnail-sized heart, he would not have lived past six months old.

But after a marathon fight for life and countless complications, Nathan, who had to be put on a state-of-the art life-support machine to keep him alive after surgery, has amazed medics and his parents with his remarkable resilience.

Proud mother Miss Condie, 28, from Gartcosh, Glasgow, said: “To look at him you would never know what he’s been through. He has so much energy and never stops smiling, and it is amazing that he still does that, considering all that he has been through.

“It was just one thing after another. I remember saying to the doctors, ‘what’s happening, is he ever going to get better?’”

Now, to thank the medics who saved Nathan, the family hopes to raise £10,000 by the end of the year in aid of the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

Miss Condie said: “The charity even funded the beds that allowed us to stay in the ward with Nathan. If they hadn’t, we would have had to leave him, and that would have made it even harder.”

Nathan, who came off all medication just two weeks ago, still has two leaky heart valves, which his parents know will need to be repaired.
He is also due to go into hospital to have his cleft pallet repaired.

But, for now, the family is looking forward to his first birthday, with friends travelling from as far afield as America to join in the celebration.