Sahib Singh Vaseer - Bicuspid Aortic Valve and Endocarditis Sahib was born on the 7th July 1995 at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham (UK). It was the happiest day of our life. Our family was complete as we already had a daughter Priya who was 3 at that time. He was a joy to play with and we enjoyed his growing up tremendously. He was incredibly playful at nursery and started at his local school when he was 5 years old. He made plenty of friends in his school and was very popular with the locals where we live. His passion for football grew very early in his childhood and he would be kicking the ball in our back garden after coming back from school. He started playing for a local football club where he won many trophies. He soon became interested in playing cricket and his Cricket Club (Plumtree.C.C) put him forward for the trials to play for Notts under 11's. He was looking very promising with the bat and spent many evenings practicing at Trent Bridge Cricket ground. Sahib had a natural gift in picking up any sporting activities, be it Table Tennis , Badminton , Tennis, Mountain biking or Playstation games. He loved outdoor activities and nothing would tire him out. He had a vibrant childhood because of the tremendous energy he had in him. He was doing well at his studies and enjoyed going to school. He was polite to everyone and respected authority. He knew his boundaries particularly with people who were older than him. Sahib became unwell on the 23rd Feb 06 and complained of a slight headache and fever. We took him to our family doctor who prescribed him medication for his temperature and headache. Sahib's constant headache started to worry us and we took him to our local hospital on the 1st March 06. He was admitted there with suspected meningitis. He was rushed to P.I.C.U the next day as he started having respiratory difficulties. He immediately had an echo scan and it was discovered that he had an infection on his heart muscle. Sahib's respiratory condition had started to worsen by the hour. He was rushed to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester for urgent surgery. Mr Firman operated on Sahib and informed us that Sahib had developed Acute Bacterial Endocarditis. It was then discovered by the surgical team that Sahib had a bicuspid aortic valve disease which hadn't been detected until this surgery. A small jet type leak had roughened the inner surface of his heart where the bacteria was residing. His mitral valve had been eroded by the bacteria (Staphylococcus) and had to be replaced by an artificial valve. There were further complications. Although Sahib was recovering from the heart surgery, his neurological condition wasn't improving. Sadly Sahib passed away in Glenfield hospital at 2pm on the 23rd March 06. It felt like we had been hit with a sledgehammer. Our lives were shattered and we were devastated. The earth had moved from beneath our feet. Our lives were shriveled and overturned with Sahib passing away so suddenly. The shock of living without Sahib was unbearable. It felt like we had been repeatedly hit by a sledgehammer. How could such an active boy go away like this? At Sahib's funeral we decided to raise some money towards Heartlink Children's Charity and with your help he raised £2650.00. He would have loved to play snooker or bar football if he had been able to while he was staying on ward 30. The money raised will go towards buying these games and the rest towards much needed medical equipment. We would like to thank Dr. Thomas (Q.M.C.) Mr. Firman and Dr. Duke (Glenfield) in particular for treating Sahib while he was in their care. We are also very grateful to all the nurses , doctors and staff on P.I.C.U ,Staff on ward 30 and all the Heartlink staff for not only taking care of Sahib, but also giving us the emotional support and a place to live which enabled us to be at his bedside during his stay in Glenfield Hospital. Kaval , Nina and Priya Vaseer (Published here with permission from Kaval Vaseer)

Through tears, our eyes see more clearly . . . . May we all be moved to greater efforts in our quest for a better tomorrow, a safer future for each precious child who begins life with a bicuspid aortic valve.