Published 27th Sep 2023, 11:50 BST

Richard, who lives with wife Sarah and their three children William, Matthew and Isobel, says he was born as an apparently healthy baby – but that immediately his mother Carol had problems feeding him. “She noticed that I was showing signs that I was hungry but was unable to stay awake to finish feeding,” he explains. “She expressed concerns to the hospital staff but at this time was just advised she needed to try harder.”

Richard and his mother were discharged the next day but at home the problems with feeding continued. Eventually, after Carol noticed that as well as him being sleepy and lethargic, Richard’s lips and fingernails were turning blue, she took him to Bradford hospital.

“Luckily when she went, there was a doctor from the congenital heart unit in Leeds who said: ‘I know what’s up with him’ and I was incubated and transferred by ambulance to the specialist heart unit at Killingbeck hospital,” says Richard. “At this point my mum feared the worst and was extremely anxious and distraught.”

Richard Dempsey pictured with his family.

At the hospital, aged just 11 days, Richard had his first heart surgery – to repair a narrowed aorta, the main artery that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of your body. After the operation and a few days in hospital, Richard was allowed to go home with his parents. Although he remained poorly and often became ill with chest infections, it wasn’t until he was eight-years-old that he needed more surgery.

His second operation was in 1995 and surgeons repaired his mitral valves – which help regulate the flow of blood within the heart, as well as a small hole in Richard’s heart. “I only vaguely remember the operation and the days afterwards,” he says. “Afterwards I can remember being on a rocking horse in the hospital playroom with my cousin. I fell off it and smashed my chest – so when the doctor came round he told me I needed to calm down.”

Today, Richard, a healthcare assistant at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, says he leads a “normal life”, with hospital check ups every few years. But he says he wouldn’t be here without the care he received and without research funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Richard is backing the charity’s Spotlight On campaign this month, to raise awareness of hidden heart conditions and funds for research. “Hidden heart conditions often go undiagnosed for too long, until something goes wrong or it’s too late,” says BHF’s community and fundraising manager for West Yorkshire, Sian Dickson. “By funding groundbreaking research, we can get a step closer to breakthroughs that that could help save and improve millions of lives and outsmart heart disease for good."   

Visit spotlighton.bhf.org.uk

'Mum was distraught': Bradford dad who had lifesaving surgery as a baby helps spotlight hidden heart conditions.