Brave Sean Óg is Little Blue Hero

A TALLAGHT boy with a congenital heart defect was made an honorary garda on Saturday, when gardai from Tallaght Garda Station presented him with an ‘honorary garda’ cap and his own little garda car.

Seán Óg Preston, who turns three later this month, was born with a heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning that the left side of his heart didn’t fully develop.

As a result of his condition, Seán Óg, from West Park, only has one chamber that pumps blood in his heart. He underwent heart surgery three times in the first few months of his life to treat the condition.

Seán Óg’s mam, Sarah-Jane Preston, told The Echo: “Before Seán Óg had his third operation in April, he couldn’t go up the stairs without getting out of breath.

“He couldn’t walk anywhere – we’d wheel him around in a buggy or we’d carry him. He looked blue, and his fingers and toes would be clubbed because there was no blood going to his extremities.”

Last April, Seán Óg underwent a type of open-heart surgery called the Fontan procedure, to enable blood from the lower part of the body to go directly to the lungs without passing through the heart.

Recovery from the procedure typically takes several weeks, however Seán Óg was up and about 11 days afterwards with a new lease of life.

“I call him Spiderman now, because it was heartbreaking seeing how he was before,” said Sarah-Jane.

“We did an Easter egg hunt before his operation but he couldn’t do it, he was gasping and out of breath. His sister Fianna got the eggs for him.

“But he’s doing stuff now that’s amazing to see – he’s like a completely different child.”

Sarah-Jane and her husband, Seán, are delighted to see the change in their son, who’s now full of energy and happily plays with his siblings Fianna (8) and Rian (14 months).

While Seán Óg was receiving treatment in Children’s Health Ireland in Crumlin, another parent mentioned the Little Blue Heroes Foundation to Sarah-Jane, who reached out to them.

The Little Blue Heroes Foundation was established by garda staff and it supports the families of seriously ill children.

These children often become honorary gardai – a designation that the charity gives to seriously ill children, who then get their own garda uniform and become part of the garda family.

On Saturday, gardai from Tallaght Garda Station went to visit little Seán Óg and his family, and presented him with his own garda car and cap.

“I kind of had to prepare him for it because he’s been so anxious since he had the Fontan operation,” Sarah-Jane explained.

“I told him that the guards were coming, and he was a bit unsure. But they let him see the back of the garda van, and then they let him get in the front and put on the sirens – he loved it.

“They brought him a hat and a little car. It was overwhelming for him, but it was really heartwarming to see.”

A garda uniform is currently in the process of being specially made for Seán Óg, and a graduation ceremony for him and other honorary gardai from the area is expected to be held in Tallaght Garda Station later this year.

However, the little boy, who will start attending naíonra in Scoil Chaitlín Maude later this month, already feels like he’s a part of the force.

“I brought him on a walk and he saw a garda car and said, ‘That’s me’,” said Sarah-Jane.

“It’s lovely to see him enjoying these things, because the past few years have been so hard for him.”

The Prestons added that they wanted to thank the gardai from Tallaght Garda Station, including Sgt Emer Lamon and Garda Peter Ennis, for making their son a Little Blue Hero.