Kieran Leom Reveley

1995 to 2002
aged: 7
From: Billingham

Kieran Leom Reveley
died 7.7.2002 @ 10am
aged 7 years and 1 day
We found out not even 24 hours after his birth there was something wrong. He was rushed to Freemans for specialist heart scans, and it was then that they realised he had a genital heart defect called fallots tetralogy

Within 18 months, Kieran had about 20 'procedures' at Freemans Hospital - special 'dyes' were put through his body...(for them looking after us, I am very grateful!)he had dyes put through his body,to see how the heart worked - had a shunt fitted at 3 months old,they were waiting for his little body to be strong enough to undergo surgery.He was always a 'blue' baby, and he cried alot, and he was obviously ill.When I rang the doctor one night, -he came out to see him, and said that he had nothing but a commen cold! - said i was over protective of my child, because he had a heart defect!!You just know when your child is ill,don't you?( I was later strook off the doctors list, because i wrote a letter of complaint about dr gartner!)
I said i wanted a second opinion, and he told me to 'do whatever it takes'to get him under the obvious heart care hospital in the region!I I dialled 999 and they rushed him to north tees.They put him on the children's ward under observation, but his condition deteriorated over night. They told me, given my history with asthma , that he's probably got it too - so it was nebulizers, oxygen, but nothing was helping him to breath.
The next day he told me his lung had collapsed, and he had double pneumonia (whatever that means!)I'll always remember the day, because it was the 13th of march 1996, the morning of the Dunblane ..killings.So off we were again, back to freeman's hospital for an emergency assessment, and they realised that it wasn't asthma, but scar tissue from previous operations gave him difficultly breathing. The doctor prepared me , that he might have to have a tracheotomy in order to save his life - i said do what you have to do to save my son!

He ended up having the operation for a tracky, which was hard, i had a 4 year old daughter, and 2 year old son aswell.
for 2 weeks i was at the freeman hospital, learning how to clean his tracky tubes, and give him suction (to save his life!)
as soon as i stepped into asda(billingham) people would stare (even though i had 2 toddlers aswell!!) stare at me giving my son suction!Anything to stop him choking!?
i never felt so alone, in the whole of my life, and from that day on i vowed that my kids were all that i would live for, for the rest of my life!!

I watched babies die in intensive care, but never did i think it would happen to me.he had his tube in for 5 months and it was a very hard period of my life, didn't sleep, worried at every noise, panicked alot of the time, was very stressed out! (had no transport, 3 kids under 5!!)watching people giving me dirty looks round asda, while I'm giving me kid suction!but hey what could i do?i was a young mother with 3 kids (21)(the father left me when he couldn't take the heat,Chester, you know who you are)
he got better, with alot of love and nursing care, and they decided that his tracky could come out!but they still had to wait until he was a stronger little boy until they could give him his 'corrective' op (approx 18 months old)so we still had to wait another 5-6 weeks before we heard of a date.
He had his op when he was 17 months and 5 days , because they didn't want to mess about and wait!
I was shown all around the Freeman hospital...the doctors and nursing staff made me as comfortable as possible,( another planet from north tees!) because they told me that it was a life or death situation, sign the forms , then he'll be in the the best hands (which he was!)
there is a risk of dire consiquence. I signed the forms, because i had to, i was a life or death situation, they told me, that he wouldn't live past 3 - omg 3??? sign the forms! so i did, a 3 hour op, turned out to be an 8 hour op!
i've never smoked/ate/drank as much as i did that day!
covered in tubes, scar's and wires was the next time i saw him, but the nurses (bless them, the best!)prepared me. Scary at first, but having sitting with him every day till his recovoury, I realised that he wasn't so scary after all!!!
after that, Kie-pie recovered very well, in fact, he used to wrestle with his big bro Callum - i was very wary - he'd had open heart with a big scar down his middle, and a pace maker because his heart didn't beat to the tune!!...he used to walk down the road, with his little blonde head bobbing past the window, and when people used to ask about his scars, he would shrug his shoulders and say 'i dunno' he alway's had his top off, wasn't bothered - i hadn't explained them to him yet lol!!! i always thought that i'd do it when he was old enough to understand. i never got that chance though, did i? he died aged 7 years and 1 day, and i wish that there could be more i could of done for him him at the time.
I could here Callum and kie-pie argueing over the playstaion, so i shouted 'stop arguing , or it's going off!!!!' Ant then it all went quiet! And then, i came downstars on a 'normal' sunday morning, ---callum was glued to the playstation (as per) - kieran had said he was 'tired' but it was still early , so callum thought no more of it. he played on the playstatiion, and said kieran was tired, so he 'went back to sleep'. I thought he was hiding - so I played 'peekaboo' ...i really thought he was playing dead at first, I think i told callum to 'get a glass'thought he caught menengitas, but his skin was just mottely. The ambulance worked on him for about an hour, but it felt like a full day! when i got downstairs, i thought kieran was hiding from me.---sunday is chucky egg day, and i got up to make them!
after that we had a very nice life - kieran always the life and soul of any party (i have the vids to prove it!)loved by everyone - his main ambition in life was.........wait for it........to be an ice-cream-man, so he could give every one he loved free ice-creams!!!!
very happy our life went on, i even met a new bloke (who i'm married to now!!) in 2000. They were just getting the hang of each other's ways, then, Kieran turned 7.
It was 6.7.2002 when he turned 7, i took Kie-pie, Shelly and Callum to see 'scooby doo' but as we were watching the film, kieran was very sleepy, i put it down to excitment. Afterwerds, I took them to mcdonalds as you do, + icecream as it was his birthday, but Kieran never ate it.

All the way home on the bus he was sleepy, i wasn't concerned because i just thought he was tired!

I got a babysitter in that night, and decided to go round a mates for a drinky pops....i was in by 2am, checked on the kids, and went to bed, love weekends because they're so chilled zzzzzzzz

next day 7.7.2002 i got up out of me pit, i'd just heard kie and call arguing over play-station e.t.c, so i came down , opened the curtains, and said ' morning my little 'imps' chucky eggs are cumming!!' (boiled eggs always on a sunday morning!) Callum was sat glued to his playstaion, as per, and i said 'where's kieran?' and he said 'i dunno, he's gone back to sleep' I thought he was hiding from me, and expected him to jump up and 'suprise' me, but when i looked under the quilt, i could see that something wasn't right. I screemed at callum ' get me a glass'??? his skin was all mottely, and he looked like he had a rash, but, he was dead. I performed cpr under the instruction of the ambulance service, but i didn't know if i was breathing too hard, pushing too hard, e.t.c nobody taught me cpr properlly, but even if they did they can't prepare you if it's ur own baby (age 7!)
When the ambulance got here, they said, ' whats wrong with you woman, get ur clothes on! i was a right sight! i got ready and the ambulance people where still working on him...my mother-in-law(who lives over the road at number 9) asked me what was going on, but i was in shock and i said he's dead , and she burst into tears..she herself has lost a son, but also, she was close to Kieran since we had to stay with her after the house fire in 2001. We raced to the hospital with blue lights all the way, me hubby was fishing at the time about 40 miles away.
They worked on him for at least an hour, and he went to heaven anyway. Thankyou to the ambulance and docs (you know who you are) for trying your blooming hardest to save him, like you would if it was your own family.
this is all i can do at the mo.....everyone who knows me will understand joxxxxx


i never felt so alone, in the whole of my life, and from that day on i vowed that my kids were all that i would live for, for the rest of my life!!
I When i first saw Kieran, i shouted at him ' come back now!' 'wake up son, please.' he was still warm, but his face was smiling, with his gappy smile that he had (he never did get his adult teeth through!)

It's been 6 years gone July since we lost you Kieran, you would of been a teenager this year :) i love you my little prince...until we meet again