On the 13th May I will be taking on the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge to raise money for Families of Ocean Ward.

This charity is very close to our hearts as they supported our family through the most difficult weeks imaginable.

Florence was diagnosed with a rare heart condition hours after she was born - She had a large hole in her heart and transposition of the great arteries. In basic terms her heart was wired wrong! Being a tiny twin weighing just over 5lb she was too small to have her open heart surgery in the first week of life like a single or bigger baby would have. We waited for a long 6 weeks for her to grow and be strong enough for such a big operation. In the time waiting for surgery she didn’t have an easy ride, she got a serious bowel infection -Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) which is sadly common in heart babies and also contracted fungal sepsis from one of the many lines in her body.

On 15th September she was finally deemed ready for her open heart surgery. Dr Viola worked his magic for seven long hours and completed her arterial switch and closing the large hole in the bottom of Flossie’s heart. Amazingly, just two and a half weeks later, she was discharged from hospital and FINALLY able to come home!

Ocean Ward is the most amazing place, with the kindest nurses who not only look after exceptionally poorly babies, but give incredible support to their families.

I will be aiming to raise £10 a kilometre to help provide support to families who have children on the ward. We are forever grateful for their care, support and ultimately keeping us going through some of the scariest weeks as well as sharing in all the good days and positive steps! If you would consider donating anything you can, or sharing this around your social media, we would be eternally grateful.

We are a registered Charity (1145013) formed by volunteer parents of children with cardiac disease who rely on the services provided by Ocean Ward and it’s team of specialist and dedicated staff.We have strong links with the ward with a representative from Ocean Ward involved in strategic planning and decision making . This enables us to stay abreast of the day to day needs of families being cared for on Ocean Ward.We provide services and days out to families of children with heart conditions treated on Ocean Ward, Southampton GH.