- Diagnosed with a heart condition called transposition of the great arteries (TGA), Caroline Eckert de Campos, 35, from Brisbane, Qld, was told she would never be a mum.
- Despite the odds, Caroline fell pregnant and went on to welcome her daughter, Antonia.
- Just 12 hours after giving birth, Caroline’s heart stopped.
Here Caroline tells her story in her own words.
‘I’m sorry, but you can never have children,’ my cardiologist warned.
It was March 2021, and, aged 31, the news shattered me.
Born with a congenital heart condition called transposition of the great arteries (TGA), it meant the two main arteries leaving my heart are reversed, resulting in poor oxygen flow around my body.
So aged two, I had my very first pacemaker inserted to help regulate my heartbeat.
Over the years, I had zero complications, but needed to have my pacemaker replaced every seven years.
Then in January 2019, aged 28, I moved to Germany for work.
There, I fell in love with an Aussie man named Luke, then 29, after meeting on a dating app.
But two months later, while I was back at home in Brazil visiting family, I developed a horrible cough, which resulted in horrendous exhaustion and feeling out of breath.
As soon as I was back in Germany, I visited a cardiologist who ran several tests.
Shockingly, they revealed I was in heart failure, thought to be caused by a virus.
To be safe I wore a wearable defibrillator vest around my chest in case my heart stopped.
In May 2020, my pacemaker was removed and I was fitted with an internal defibrillator.
Ten months later, during a routine check-up with my cardiologist, she revealed that, due to my condition, I’d never be able to become a mum.
‘It’d be too risky for yourself and the baby,’ she advised.
Luke and I were devastated. We’d been so excited about the idea of one day starting a family.
‘You should be with someone healthier,’ I told him, feeling like a burden.
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he promised.
Moving in together, Luke was my best support.
By then, everything was tracking well with my heart.
I was still a heart failure patient, and always will be, but I was in a more stable position with the defibrillator and the heart meds I’d been put on.
That August, I was thrilled when Luke proposed while we enjoyed a picnic in the park.
‘Yes!’ I beamed.
A few months later, we moved to Brisbane to be closer to Luke’s family.
That December, 30 of our family and friends gathered to witness us say ‘I do’.
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We were so happy, but we still felt like one thing was missing – a child.
We looked into surrogacy and adoption, but I longed to carry a baby of our own.
So we met with a cardiologist at Mater Mothers’ Hospital for a second opinion, after reading about another Queensland patient with TGA who’d carried their own baby.
‘It is higher risk, but it’s not impossible,’ the specialist said.
Feeling hopeful, Luke and I stopped using contraception.
Incredibly, in May 2024, two pink lines appeared on a pregnancy test at home.
‘We’re having a baby!’ we cried happy tears.
Despite our excitement, I still felt anxious. Will my heart survive carrying a baby to term? I worried.
I had monthly tests at hospital, and made sure to eat healthily and stay fit.
At 10 weeks we learned we were having a girl.
We decided to name her Antonia – after Luke’s older brother Anthony.
Thankfully, every scan showed Antonia was growing well.
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Then in January 2025, at 38 weeks and four days, Luke was by my side as I was wheeled into theatre for a planned caesarean.
Holding our angel Antonia in my arms for the first time, I was absolutely smitten.
Then just 12 hours later, while I was cradling our girl, I had an awful coughing fit.
I immediately panicked – it felt just like the one I’d had before I went into heart failure.
I drank some water to soothe my throat, but the coughing intensified.
‘Carol!’ Luke fretted, as nurses sprang to my aid.
Then everything went black…
Coming to, I realised Luke was beside me, holding my hand.
‘I’m so glad you’re okay,’ he said, explaining my heart had stopped for 20 minutes after I’d gone into cardiac arrest.
After I was successfully resuscitated, doctors had put me into an induced coma, and told Luke to prepare for the worst.
‘The idea of taking Antonia home without you broke my heart,’ Luke sobbed.
I’d been in a coma for three days. I couldn’t believe I was alive.
It’s a miracle, I realised.
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When she was five days old, precious Antonia was discharged but I stayed in the ICU as my heart was closely monitored.
My hubby and our girl – and my mum who flew in from Brazil – visited me every day.
Finally, 10 days after Antonia, I was able to go home to make memories as a little family with our miracle bub.
Every few days for the next month I went back to hospital for dialysis, as my kidneys had also shut down as a result of my cardiac arrest.
Eight months on, Antonia has the sweetest smile and cheekiest laugh.
She is our dream that came true and we couldn’t be more thankful.
I’ll never be able to carry another baby, but we are open to exploring other options to grow our family in the future.
While my heart will always be at risk, it’s never been more full of love.
