Help Fund Rosie’s Heart Surgery

We’re raising £50,000 to help cover the cost of our daughter Rosie’s heart surgery and ongoing care. There are truly no words to express how much your support means to us.

In June this year, we were devastated to learn that our two-year-old daughter Rosie was born with a congenital heart defect requiring open heart surgery within six months.

At the same time, Rosie has struggled to wean onto solid food and still survives on yoghurt. Doctors suspect this is due to a midline congenital condition affecting her ability to swallow. Following a consultation with a complex condition paediatrician at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), we were advised to prioritise investigating and treating this swallowing issue before surgery. Doing so will give Rosie the best possible chance of a safe and successful operation, by reducing the risk of complications.

Rosie is currently under the care of a gastroenterology team at a different hospital. However, within gastroenterology, her heart surgery timeline isn’t taken into account, and despite requests from GOSH, her case couldn’t be prioritised. The wait for NHS investigations risked delaying her heart surgery, so we made the incredibly difficult decision to pursue private treatment for her swallowing issues. We’ve covered the costs so far.

Meanwhile, GOSH’s paediatric cardiology services are stretched, and there’s a long waiting list for heart surgery. Although we’re under the care of an exceptional cardiologist at GOSH (to whom we are deeply grateful), we won’t know Rosie’s surgery date until two weeks in advance — and even then, it could be postponed due to other emergencies or if Rosie is even slightly unwell.

Rosie is more vulnerable to illness due to her condition, and as we move into the colder months, the risk of delays increases. Each delay puts more strain on her tiny body and delays the chance for her to thrive.

We are doing everything we can to give Rosie the best shot — but we can’t do it alone.

If just 50,000 people each gave £1, we could reach our goal and give our bright, funny, beautiful little girl the future she deserves.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting. From the bottom of our hearts — thank you.

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I'm raising £50,000 for a health/medical cause

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