Mateo Duque is an active three-year-old with a big personality, his mom, Poy Duque, said.
“For such a small body, he has big emotions,” Poy said from their family home in Cloverdale.
Mateo knows what he likes and will make it known when he does not like something, his dad, Erico Duque, said.
If Mateo is in the middle of something, like a puzzle, when the family is getting ready to go out, he will protest.
“He’s gonna say no,” Erico said. “He’s gonna go inside the room and he’s gonna close the door, turn off the lights and just sit in the middle of that darkness (and say) I don’t want to go,” Erico said.
“He loves being the baby of the family; he likes to be babied or loved and cared after,” Erico said. He has an older sister, Bela, who is five.
“He does have a stubborn side to him, which is telling of the things that he’s gone through at an early age,” Erico added.
The family had planned to give birth to Mateo at Peace Arch Hospital with a midwife, where they had their first Bella several years earlier.
Not everything went according to plan, though.
Poy and Erico knew something was wrong when their normally-hour ultrasound appointment at 20 weeks stretched into three hours.
Later that evening, they received a call from their midwife at Semiahmoo Midwifery, asking them to come in the next morning to discuss the results of the ultrasound.
The midwife assured them Mateo was alive but that they saw something on the ultrasound “that needed to be discussed,” Poy said.
“That was a difficult evening,” Erico recalled. “Worry and anxiousness was already setting in,” Poy recalled.
The next morning, they found out that Mateo had a congenital heart defect.
“It was a shock, we cried,” Poy said. “Just trying to figure out what the next steps are…like you don’t even know, and then you start questioning things like, well, was this something that we did.”
As faith is an important part of the Duque family, they prayed.
The midwives helped guide Erico and Poy in their transition from their services to a hospital in Vancouver.
“Even after the transfer of care to BC Women’s and Children’s, they still followed up with us just checking in and even when I was about to deliver, were they were outside the hospital just waiting to see if we needed, you know, extra care,” Poy said.
There was also a whole team of doctors and nurses at BC Women’s and Children’s ready to answer any questions the Duque’s had.
Erico gave a special shout-out to nurse Anna, who has been with the family since they were transferred to BC Children’s.
“That gives us a little bit of comfort knowing that we were part of something that truly cares about us, truly cares about Mateo, because we’ve had the same set of people with us from that 20-week ultrasound to his upcoming surgery,” Erico said.
“It’s a full team that goes with us and probably until he’s, like, 18 transitioning into adulthood,” Poy said.
“It’s a huge help,” Poy said. “To have the same team who knows him really well from the beginning.”
Poy said his oxygen levels were 50 percent when he was born. “He was born a blue baby because of the lack of oxygen.”
Mateo had his first surgery at six days old, which was not the original plan.
“The plan when I was pregnant at 20 weeks and the initial conversation we had with the doctors was a full different set of surgeries for him,” Poy said. The original plan was for Mateo to have surgery, but that plan changed when he was born thanks in part to technology at the hospital, and “they were able to get a clearer picture of the defects of his heart,” Poy said.
“That’s what the reason why they delayed it too, because they were able to see the anatomy of the heart and we can get a clearer picture and so that from there, they shifted to a different surgery,” Poy said.
Erico added that one thing they have learned is how quickly heart research for kids advances.
“They always tell us if the surgery happens tomorrow, this is what will happen, but we don’t know in six years, in three years, in two years how advanced technology is going to be, but we’ll be with you throughout the whole time,” Erico said.
The doctors and nurses at BC Children’s often go above and beyond to make sure the Duque’s are cared for, Poy said.
Nurse Anna will often send a follow-up email after medical appointments with a breakdown of what was discussed. “It helps us be confident and know this is exactly what’s happening,” Poy said
Poy said this is especially helpful when the appointment is about an upcoming surgery. “It’s a lot of information to take in at the appointment.”
His second surgery was when he was 10 months old, and his third major surgery is scheduled for this summer, which will be his biggest major operation.“Because it’s an open heart surgery, and they might have to stop his heart,” Poy said.
Erico said this was not something Mateo’s medical team talked about when they wrapped up the second surgery.
“We only discussed the potential for a different surgery about six months ago,” Erico said. The team told the Duque’s that this surgery was a better option and was going to “possibly leave him with less surgeries in the future,” Erico said.
“That just gave us a lot of comfort and confidence,” Erico said. “Not only are they the experts, but they’re also caring.”
The surgery “will make his heart as closest to a normal heart as possible,” Poy said. “Which is closer to 100 or 99 (per cent oxygen levels),” Erico added.
READ MORE: Surrey girl receives life-saving treatment at BC Children’s Hospital
Advancements in technology and research at the hospital are in part made possible by financial support from the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation and fundraising initiatives like Choices Lottery, Malcolm Berry, president and CEO of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, stated in a media release (March. 4).
“You might think your impact is small; however, your Choices Lottery ticket purchase could be what pushes the next medical advancement over the finish line. Thank you for getting us closer to crucial answers for our mighty kids and their families,” Berry said.
“As 70 per cent of BC Children’s researchers are also health care professionals providing care in the hospital, life-changing discoveries can be brought from the laboratory bench, straight to a child’s bedside faster and more efficiently,” Berry added.
Of the 10 grand prize options for the 2024 Choices Lottery is a South Surrey home, located at 13156 19A Avenue, worth more than $2.7 million.
Tickets for the lottery are available until midnight on April 12 or until they sell out. Tickets are available online at bcchildren.com, by calling 604-692-2333 or in-person at London Drugs and Save-On Foods.