There’s no doubt in Maria and Fred Demetriou’s mind that their five-year-old son is special, but when Noah puts on his Supertee, he really does become a little superhero.
To look at Noah now, you would never know he was admitted to palliative care at five months old suffering heart failure.
Born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and rushed to Westmead Children’s Hospital at just 12 hours old, Noah had his first open heart surgery at nine days old.
A second open heart surgery at three months old was unsuccessful and the only remaining option was a heart transplant.
It was a one in a billion chance that a match would be found in time, but incredibly, only a month after being listed for a transplant, a match was found.
His parents dropped everything to get him on a medical flight to Melbourne for a 17-hour transplant surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital, the only hospital in Australia to carry out the procedure on infants.
After three months of recovery and rehabilitation, Noah was able to return to his Killarney Vale home and begin a normal life with his family but will require cardiac tests, blood tests and follow-up procedures for the rest of his life.
That’s a tough way to live for anyone let alone a young child, but with the help of his Supertee, life is just a little bit brighter for Noah.
The Supertee is a specifically designed medical garment disguised as a fun costume.
It features press studs and Velcro allowing for monitors and lines to be connected without becoming tangled in clothes and can be undone and changed easily.
It’s the brainchild of tradie Jason Sotiris who saw the need for a more user-friendly medical garment for children when his own daughter was in hospital with a rare form of cancer.
Noah’s mum Maria said the Supertee had given her son something to look forward to.
“It can be very traumatic for him, but honestly when he puts that on before any of his appointments, he becomes a superhero,” she said.
“It’s made a huge difference for us, especially as he spends so much time in hospitals.
“The nurses whip one out and the smile on his face is just beyond, his whole face lights up.”
The Supertees come in a range of styles including the Marvel range and more recently the astronaut range.
“The Supertees have given kids in hospital going through such hardships something to look forward to,” she said.