1-in-10,000 Wonder Boy
Published: March 25, 2008
A Little boy who, just 18 months ago, was unable to move and was given a one-in-10,000 chance of survival, is now clambering about.
Matthew Frost’s parents have described their son as a “little walking miracle” because of his remarkable progress.
The three-year-old was born with a heart complaint called tetralogy of Fallots and contracted an infection after heart surgery when he was 18 months old. The infection left him on a life-support machine for five days and caused him to lose a leg and some of his fingers. At one stage, he was given only a 0.01 per cent chance of survival.
But Matthew’s recovery has been incredible and his parents say it is nothing short of a miracle.
Mum Claire Frost said: “He is a little walking miracle. Everyone cannot believe how much he has come on. Eighteen months ago, he could only move his eyes and we were told he would never be able to walk.
“Yet now he is crawling and climbing up on the settee.”
Dad Mark Frost, 34, said there had been “some very dark times”, including periods when they were told their only child at the time could be left deaf, dumb and brain damaged, or that he could even die.
Mr Frost said: “In September 2006, scans showed signs of brain damage but that seems to have corrected itself and he has been discharged from the brain clinic. If you ever want to see a miracle, then here is one. It’s just incredible from where we’ve been to where we are now.”
Matthew has regular check-ups and physiotherapy sessions at Derbyshire Children’s Hospital.
He was recently given a “whizzy bug”, an electrically-powered vehicle to help him get around.
The Frosts, of Benner Avenue, Ilkeston, have been talking to doctors at Nottingham City Hospital about Matthew having a false limb fitted.
Last year, the Frosts began fund-raising as a gesture of thanks for the medical care that Matthew had received from five hospitals in the region, including Derbyshire Children’s.
They have now raised £10,297 for Heartlink, a charity that supports the parents of children with heart defects.
The charity, based at Glenfield Hospital, in Leicester, is raising £161,000 for a 4D ultrasound scanner, which is able to show highly detailed images of the heart.
The Frosts also feel thankful to medics for another reason.
Their second son, Richard, who will be one next month, was born with Erb’s palsy, a condition that is caused by a traumatic birth and affects movement and feeling in one arm.
But Mr Frost said that, although Richard did not have full movement in his right arm, his condition had massively improved with the help of Derbyshire Children’s Hospital.
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