Book mementofor parents oftragic heart boy

Paul Jeeves

A BOY has left his family with a heartbreaking memento of his battle against a rare heart defect after he died following surgery.

Bradley Brough had started to keep a diary of his experiences only three days before he underwent the operation in the hope that his recollections would inspire other children who had been diagnosed with similar life-threatening conditions.

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The 11-year-old, from Upper Poppleton on the outskirts of York, underwent two previous operations after being born with his heart upside down and he had high hopes that he would make a full recovery from the latest surgery earlier this month.

His grieving family has revealed that Bradley had started to keep the book to chart his experiences just before the surgery, and had written: “I should be OK after my operation, so not to worry.”

His father, Kevin Brough, 43, added: “It was hoped he would live well into adulthood. This was certainly unexpected. This procedure was expected to pose little risk and we are unable to come to terms with his sudden death.

“Now this is not the home it was, something is missing. He was a happy lad and had just announced he wanted to write a book to help other children with similar conditions. That was just three days before he died.

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“He was determined to not miss out on any fun and often surprised people by getting out of his wheelchair he sometimes had to use.”

As well as having his heart in the wrong position, Bradley was born with a twisted bowel and without a spleen leaving him extremely vulnerable to infection.

He had surgery immediately after he was born on his arteries and a second successful heart operation was carried out five years ago. But the youngster passed away on Wednesday, October 13, after surgery at Leeds General Infirmary.

His parents, who have a daughter Jade, 16, and a 15-year-old son, Thomas, now treasure the first page of Bradley’s book which he wanted to write to help other seriously-ill children.

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Bradley’s mother, Sharon Brough, 40, said: “He said to me ‘we have to write a book about how kids with heart problems feel, we have to write it, mum’.

“We now want to start a foundation in Bradley’s name to buy PlayStations for bored youngsters spending long periods of time in hospitals.

“He loved his PlayStation. It took him away from not being able to run. He could run on there which was something he was not able to do in real life. He was a happy lad and it was a good 11 years.”

The youngster’s family also revealed that he had ambitions to appear on ITV’s hugely popular series, Britain’s Got Talent, as he was an avid singer.

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He was also a keen darts player and often played with his father at the local pub, the White Horse in Upper Poppleton.

Bradley’s mother added: “We committed ourselves 100 per cent to Bradley and I’m so glad we did. Even up to these last couple of years he was able to do things other kids could do.

“He could never really run, but just recently the gap between him and his friends had got wider.

“He recently got back from a potholing and climbing activity week with his school. I cuddled him so hard when he got back and he cuddled me because I had never let him go before.”