A DEDICATED mum-of-two was ‘terribly shocked’ to be told that her smiling baby son would need open heart surgery when he was just six months old.

Abi Cook, 26, said there were no signs that her little boy Jackson was sick until a heart murmur was picked up during a routine checkup at Warrington Hospital.

Abi, from Great Sankey, said: “There was a hole between the two sides of his heart. He never displayed any symptoms, a lot of babies with heart problems are born blue. We are very lucky that it was picked up.

“It was a terrible shock. He was just very sleepy which we thought was a good thing. But he was tired because he wasn’t getting enough oxygen round his body.”

Now the family have discovered Jackson will need a further operation at Alder Hey as his pulmonary artery has not grown enough.

“We have to make sure he doesn’t get agitated or start crying because it can put too much stress on his heart and there is a risk of him turning blue. It’s awful to worry about him,” said Abi, who is also mum to four-year-old Dominic.

“He’s just started walking and he wants to hold my hand so he can walk around the room. He’s a really happy baby. We are told after this he hopefully will not need another operation for a few years.

“We were meant to go on holiday together but I got a bit ahead of myself and we couldn’t go as we weren’t sure he was ready to fly, everything is focused around his sleep at the moment. When he has recovered from his next operation we’re hoping to go on a proper family holiday together.”

The family stayed at Ronald McDonald House for nine days when Jackson had his first surgery and now Abi and 18 friends are doing the Colour Obstacle Rush to fundraise as a thank you to the charity.

She added: “We were lucky that when Jackson was in hospital we had family who could help keep life normal for Dominic.

“But we met a lot of families who have struggled with one child in hospital and the charity can help to keep life as normal as possible for their other children.”

Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Abi-Cook1 to donate.