Read Dylan’s heart journey story, in his own words.
When I was born, nothing unusual had been picked up during any of the scans throughout my mum’s pregnancy. Even at birth, the doctors who delivered me noted nothing abnormal with my heart. But from the very start, something wasn’t right.
As a newborn, I didn’t stop crying. Hours went by, and I continued crying non-stop. Eventually, a midwife said to my mum: “Your son hasn’t stopped crying—this isn’t right.”
She insisted I be checked by the doctors again. That moment changed everything. You could honestly say that midwife saved my life.
After further checks, doctors discovered I had a serious heart condition. At just one day old, I was urgently airlifted by helicopter from Gosford Hospital to Sydney Children’s Hospital. I needed life-saving surgery for a condition I was born with called Aortic and Mitral Stenosis.
On the same day, I underwent a cardiac catheterisation procedure. The doctors weren’t sure it would work. In fact, they didn’t even know if I would survive—but they were willing to try. The lead cardiologist at Sydney Children’s Hospital at the time was Dr Hawker.
Following the procedure, my parents were told every single day to prepare for the worst. They were told I wouldn’t survive and that they should start planning my funeral. Against all odds, I survived. That alone was considered a miracle.
Over the years, I had multiple procedures and constant monitoring, with cardiology appointments every three months at Sydney Children’s Hospital. When my parents moved to Perth, I began seeing Dr Ramsey at Perth Children’s Hospital, who became my cardiologist right through until I turned 18. He was incredible.
Even after moving to Perth when I was just two years old, things remained very touch-and-go. After almost every appointment, my parents were told the same thing: “Take it day by day.” Doctors didn’t expect me to live a long life.
In my first 12 months, I was on medications including Spironolactone and Lasix. Then, at four years old, doctors told my parents I would need the Ross Procedure, along with open-heart surgery. This meant my diseased aortic valve would be replaced with my pulmonary valve, and my pulmonary valve would be replaced with a pig’s valve.
My mitral valve was still leaking, but because the aortic and pulmonary valves were critical—and doctors didn’t believe I would survive the surgery—they chose to operate on those first.
This meant flying from Perth back to Sydney for surgery at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Recovery was tough. But one thing that stands out to me is being able to meet and talk with other kids who were going through similar things. We supported each other, and none of us felt so alone.
The surgery was a success. However, doctors warned my parents that because the valve wouldn’t grow with me, I would likely need another surgery later in life. After recovering, I returned to Perth and continued seeing Dr Ramsey every three months, then every six months.
Fast forward to today—I am now 27 years old, and my overall health is great. I have married the girl of my dreams, and together we have a healthy and happy three-year-old son named Marlow and two dogs Wilson and Wesley. For fun we are often at the beach, surfing or taking the dogs to a dog beach.
Despite always being told I was too sick, I have competed as a state and national swimmer, achieved my lifelong goal of working at Australia Zoo alongside the Irwin family, appeared on Australian television shows, maintained strong physical fitness, and lived a full and meaningful life.
I still see my cardiologist once a year for regular check-ups. I will always have a heart condition and will always need monitoring, but right now I am doing well. I know how lucky I am.
I have a lot to show for my life as a heart kid, and I owe so much to the brave medical teams who never gave up on me, and to the people and organisations—like HeartKids—who support families walking this journey.
I unfortunately didn’t know about HeartKids growing up. I only found out about HeartKids when I was getting my ADHD diagnosis late last year and HeartKids covered the cost of my psychologist appointment. This led me to research them further and I decided to get involved and become a HeartKids volunteer.
Throughout my life, I’ve managed to “prove the doctors wrong.” I was always told growing up that I wouldn’t be able to do things, and it’s been so lovely to beat the odds and live such a ‘normal’ life.
If my story can give even one family hope, then sharing it is worth it.
