A BABY boy born with a rare heart condition is about to celebrate his first birthday – thanks to the wonderdrug Viagra.
Although best known for its anti-impotence qualities, the drug’s original purpose was to expand blood vessels and improve circulation.
And it proved ideal for Alfie Oliver, who was born with his aorta and pulmonary artery reversed. His mother, Tracey Oliver, 26, said: “He had a procedure the night he was born just to stabilise him because he was critically ill.”
Alfie was given an operation 16 days later to repair the mix-up in his heart but, despite showing promising signs, he was soon back in hospital.
Mrs Oliver, who lives in Clifton, York, with her husband, Rob, 28, said: “He came home for six weeks and was doing incredibly well. But when we took him for a routine appointment with a cardiologist, they found the pressure in his lungs was too high.”
In October, his parents were told Alfie had between two weeks and two months to live, but doctors decided to try Alfie on Viagra to open his blood vessels.
Mrs Oliver said: “It is such a strange thing for a baby to be on, but it has literally saved his life.”
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