“There were times we just didn’t know if he’d ever be able to do that,” she says, softly.
She adds: “”Maybe our story will help to give other families hope.”
Dawson on his bike in Millport (Image: Carla Lundy)
When Dawson was born, he was described as the “sickest baby in Scotland” and doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of surviving.
This summer, he will celebrate his 10th birthday with football, possibly a party and maybe even (he hopes) a trip to Legoland with his parents and little sister Lucia, who is three.
The Glasgow Times first told his story in 2019, after Carla and husband Ross helped to raise £127,000 for Glasgow Royal Children’s Hospital’s dedicated accommodation which helps parents stay close when their child is receiving treatment. (Now called Crossbasket House, it was formerly known as Ronald McDonald House.)
Dawson Lundy (Image: Colin Mearns/Newsquest)
A scan during Carla’s pregnancy had revealed a hole in the baby’s diaphragm, which meant the stomach and other organs were squeezing through the space and stopping the lungs from growing.
This condition, called congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or CDH, is very rare. As soon as Dawson was born, he was rushed into intensive care, and from that point on, the family took things “hour by hour, day by day”, Carla recalls.
However, slowly but surely, Dawson started to recover. He was put on the children’s hospital’s ECMO machine, a life support system which acts as a heart and lungs bypass.
Surgery to repair the diaphragm and move the organs back to where they should be, was a success and after 100 days in hospital, the family could return home.
When he was about a year old, Dawson found himself back in hospital having surgery, where he was diagnosed with a rare bowel condition called Hirschsprung’s disease.
And a further scare was in store when Ross went in to wake up his son and found him barely responsive.
“He had to be blue-lit to hospital, and they told us it was a type of seizure, a benign form of epilepsy,” says his dad.
“He is now almost completely clear of it though, so that has been good news. He is also down to one visit a year to the hospital in Glasgow.”
Dawson Lundy, pictured with his parents Ross and Carla and sister Lucia, who is three, (Image: Colin Mearns/Newsquest)
In his new Scotland football strip, Dawson – who lives and breathes football – is looking forward to the men’s World Cup (although he admits as a fan of Ronaldo, he might be torn between supporting Scotland and Portugal).
Asked if he would like to be a footballer one day, he is momentarily surprised.
“I am a footballer,” he says, matter-of-factly. “I play for Ardeer Thistle FC 2016. I play upfront. I scored a goal recently and I also play for my school team.”
Dawson is a pupil at St Peter’s Primary in Ardrossan, near to where the family live in Saltcoats.
“The school have been absolutely fantastic in their support of Dawson,” says Carla. “We can’t thank them enough.
“When we were first told about CDH, we couldn’t find out very much about it, and what you read online can be really scary. There is a lot of negative stuff out there.”
She adds: “We wanted to share Dawson’s story again as he turns 10, to show other parents that actually, things can be really positive.”
Dawson’s gran still has our original article on the wall of her home. (Image: Carla Lundy)
Ross adds, smiling: “My mum still has the first Glasgow Times story up on her wall, and so many people asked us about it we realised that there is a need to raise awareness of the condition.”
Carla, who is an occupational therapist, and former Largs Thistle goalkeeper- turned- process operator Ross have helped fundraise for CDH UK, a national charity dedicated to supporting children who have the condition and their families.
Dawson and his sister Lucia (Image: Carla Lundy)
CDH Awareness Day takes place on June 28 – more details are available on the charity’s website.
Recently, Dawson was asked to talk about his experience at the clinical examination day for surgeons preparing to be consultants.
“Our surgeon, Gregor Walker, is a real superhero,” says Ross. “It was an honour to be asked to help, and it was amazing to be part of the day. Dawson was great, he took it all in his stride.”
Dawson shrugs. “It was fine,” he says. “I enjoyed doing it for Mr Walker.”
Cycling in Millport, learning to swim, playing football, helping surgeons pass their exams … life is busy for Dawson.
“I love it all,” beams Carla. “We didn’t know if he’d ever be able to do these things, so they are all such achievements.
“You would not know to look at him he has had eight surgeries, countless hospital visits … we just think it’s good to tell Dawson’s story, to help other families who are in the same position now that we were 10 years ago.”
