This is a photo of Joel Bearder; he's nearly 4 years old and is Gaynor and Tony's son. We have been neighbours of Gaynor, Tony, Joel and his older brother Lucas for nearly 5 years now.
Joel was born with a congenital heart defect called Critical Aortic Stenosis which basically means that he has extremely narrow aortic valve openings (normal openings are around 2cm and critical openings are less than 0.6cm).
Joel has been treated by The Children's Heart Surgery Unit at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) since birth and his life has been saved 3 times in the last 4 years. The Heart Surgery Unit have performed miracles for this little man and his family.
On Saturday June 18th 2011, I will be taking the plunge at Hibaldstow Airfield near Brigg with a 15,000ft skydive in support of the Children's Heart Surgery Fund. This is a huge challenge for me and the prospect is extremely daunting to say the very least so your generous donation will be greatly appreciated.
The CHSF have done so much for our friends and many others in the Yorkshire, Humberside and North Midlands and it doesn't bear thinking about the 'what if' scenarios if the technology and expertise wasn't available at Leeds General.
Sadly however, as a result of the NHS’s ‘Safe & Sustainable’ review of children’s heart surgery provision across the country, the Children’s Heart Surgery Unit at the Yorkshire Heart Centre in Leeds is at risk (despite over 10,000 children passing through the paediatric unit, with around 330 of them requiring open heart surgery).
If you could also please spare a few more minutes to sign the online petition to 'Save Our Surgery' we would all be very grateful.
Don't forget if you are a UK taxpayer please ensure you tick the Gift Aid box which will donate an additional 28% to the charity at no cost to you!
Please take the time to read Joel's full story here and visit the CHSF's website here.
As part of our fundraising efforts we hosted the 1st annual Have A Heart Charity Ball at The Cedar Court Hotel. We are very pleased to announce that we raised £9,500 at this event. Why not have a look at Joel's video that was shown on the evening by clicking here and make sure you have the volume on max! The evening was a great success, so much so that the 2nd annual ball has been booked for 11th May 2012. Please get in touch if you would lilke more information.
Thank you all for your kind support.
Regards,
Chris
