Supporting Children’s Heart Surgery Fund

This charity is very close to our hearts after our baby boy was born with a congenital heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) diagnosed during pregnancy.

Tetralogy of Fallot is a complex heart condition caused by four abnormalities in the heart. These include a hole between the lower chambers of the heart (ventricular septal defect), narrowing of the valve and main artery pathway that allows blood to flow from the heart to the lungs (pulmonary stenosis), the aorta being positioned over the hole between the ventricles, and thickening of the heart’s right ventricle. Together, these defects reduce the amount of oxygenated blood reaching the body and his vital organs.

At just 7 weeks old, our little boy’s oxygen levels became dangerously low, meaning he needed to undergo his first cardiac catheterisation procedure to have a stent inserted to help improve blood flow. This resulted in a two-week hospital stay, which was an incredibly difficult and worrying time for our family. Mitchell is now a four month old baby boy who is so precious and continues to defy odds daily.

We have always known that he would need open-heart surgery before he reaches the age of one, but unfortunately, during recent scans the flow of blood to his left lung is limited and the narrowing is continuing to get worse. As a result, his cardiac team have approved his open-heart surgery to happen much sooner than we had hoped, and it is expected to take place within the next month or two.

Throughout this journey, we have seen first-hand just how important specialist cardiac care and support are for babies and their families.

We would therefore love to raise money for the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, a wonderful charity that supports children and families affected by congenital heart conditions and helps provide vital support alongside specialist cardiac care.

Myself and Marc will be each walking 125km this September to help give every Tiny Ticker the strongest possible start! Any donation, no matter how big or small, would mean so much to us and would help support other cardiac babies and their families during what can be an incredibly frightening and uncertain time.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and for supporting this very special cause.

1 in 125 babies are born with heart disease. Join me in raising vital funds for Children's Heart Surgery Fund this STEPtember - a month-long challenge where we will walk 125km and try to raise as much £££ as possible.