‘I was the smallest baby to survive open‑heart surgery, now I’m a nurse saving others’

Jade McWilliam entered the world 10 weeks prematurely, her heart described as being “the size of a walnut.”

Weighing only 2lbs 2oz, her chances of survival were slim as doctors prepared for emergency open‑heart surgery.

At just 15 days old, she was flown from her family’s home of Aberdeen to Yorkhill Children’s Hospital in Glasgow after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Her condition was so critical that surgeons had to perform open‑heart surgery to correct a severe narrowing of her aorta — the body’s main artery.

If she survived, Jade would become the smallest baby ever to make it through the operation.

The procedure lasted 11 hours due to her tiny size, and complications struck again when her heart stopped immediately after being taken off the heart‑lung bypass machine.

Her surgeon, Mr Pollock, kept her alive by manually stimulating her heart with a single finger.

Now, 25 years on, Jade has devoted her life to cardiac nursing in the Granite City — determined to give back to the people who saved her via open heart surgery.

“Who would have imagined that 25 years after that little sick baby was born, here I still am,” Jade says.

“It shows that a baby can be so ill, but thanks to research, people can have a future and live a full life.

“There are always new medications, medical breakthroughs, and discoveries — thanks to technology, there are advances all the time.

“I’ve been both a patient and a nurse in Aberdeen, and I’d love my bench to inspire important conversations, whether that’s about organ donation or recognising the signs of heart disease.”

She laughs when she admits: “I hate attention. But I’m glad this is giving others hope for the future.”

Call for better understanding of heart conditions

Jade is using her story to challenge persistent myths surrounding heart disease.

“Too many people think heart problems only affect older people, or those who are overweight, or that it’s purely down to lifestyle,” she says.

“But that’s just not true — there are so many reasons someone can develop heart issues.

“I have friends who are in heart failure, friends with pacemakers, and they’re very young. We’ve already lost so many heart warriors — young people, even babies.

“Most people are understanding, but you still get comments like, ‘Bet you’ll be worse when you’re my age.’ It’s really frustrating when people assume young people can’t be ill.

“It’s not well understood at all.”

Red bench unveiled to honour Jade’s journey after open heart surgery

A bright red bench has now been installed on Aberdeen’s beach promenade to commemorate Jade’s extraordinary journey.

She hopes it will spark conversations about heart health and the lifesaving research that makes stories like hers possible.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) hopes their red benches — placed across the UK — will encourage people to share their experiences of cardiovascular disease and raise awareness of its impact.

The charity is also calling for donations to continue funding ground-breaking research.

Current BHF‑funded projects include the flagship CureHeart programme, which aims to unlock future treatments for inherited heart muscle diseases.

Other cutting‑edge studies use artificial intelligence to predict heart attacks up to a decade before they occur and to improve detection of hidden heart rhythm conditions through advanced wearable technology.

David McColgan, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “Despite being one of the UK’s biggest killers, our new findings show cardiovascular disease is still misunderstood or not taken seriously — and that those living with it face judgement and challenges.

“By sharing the stories of people who live with cardiovascular disease on our iconic red benches across the UK, we hope to start more conversations that change dangerous misconceptions.”

[Source: Press and Journal]