An eleven-year-old boy from Wellington in the Boland has been given a fresh lease on life, after receiving a new heart from an anonymous donor to correct a rare defect.
Chris Truter suffers from a condition known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, where the left side of his heart is under-developed.
Since being diagnosed, he’s undergone three surgeries. Chris’s plight has raised the need for more donors for people with heart problems.
His mother, Christine Truter, says his health deteriorated last August during a family holiday and he was diagnosed with heart failure.
“Chris had to go to hospital to do some tests to see how his heart function was doing, they came back after half an hour and said that they couldn’t do anything it’s just his situation and that he would need a new heart and that his functionality was just so poor. That was the time that we realised we couldn’t do anything for Chris, it was quite heart wrenching to be in a situation.”
