Parents of tragic Tom (19) welcome new 3D heart scanner

Sue and John Fellows were at Rotherham Hospital on Wednesday for the official unveiling of the £104,000 echocardiogram heart scanner.

The state-of-the-art device is the fourth echo scanner to be installed at the hospital and the only unit that can take 3D pictures, which allow doctors to see the structure of the heart and heart valves, as well as function and pumping action. 

The Fellows family became involved in fundraising through the British Heart Foundation’s appeal after their 19-year-old son Tom died in September 2016.

Tom, of Bramley, suffered a burst aorta, which was caused by coarctation of the aorta - a narrowing of the heart’s main artery - that he was unaware of.

“Tom had a grin that brought sunshine into our lives,” said Sue. “The fundraising has given us something to focus on after his death.”

Tom’s family and friends raised £13,400 for the BHF through six fundraising events.

More than £4,000 went towards the scanner and the rest will be invested into BHF research.

Other contributions towards the appeal came from Westfield Health Charitable Trust, which donated £45,000, while Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity handed over £30,000 and the BHF raised £28,000 in two-and-a-half years.

Since Tom’s death, his parents and younger brother Ben have undergone scans.

“The scanner would not have prevented Tom’s sudden death, because cases like his are usually only found postmortem,” said Sue.

“But we hope through continuing to raise money for the BHF it can go towards research into the condition he had.

“If the research could have happened earlier he might still be here, but hopefully it will stop other families from going through what we are.

“I’m excited to see something positive come from all the hard work fundraisers have put in.”

Former Oakwood pupil Tom collapsed in the family garden one morning after complaining of chest pains.

John performed CPR on his son until paramedics arrived - but after a 45-minute battle he was pronounced dead.

Sue added: “The night before, Tom had gone to the pub, my last words were: ‘Be safe, love you’. The next morning he was dead.”

The parents urged people to keep raising money for the BHF.

Simon Smith, consultant cardiologist, said: “These machines are very expensive and without the fundraising we wouldn’t have been able to buy it.

“There’s an increased demand for echo scans due to the ageing population, there’s more people in the area with conditions like heart disease and also when people undergo chemotherapy it can affect the heart function, so they might need a scan during their treatment to allow their treatment to continue safely.

“It really influences a lot of patients’ care.”

Since its installation six months ago, the unit has already scanned 1,200 patients - about ten a day.

Dan McNally, BHF area fundraising manager, said Rotherham residents had donated on average £78 each during the appeal, which was backed by the Advertiser as part of the Heart Town campaign.