As many of you will know Esme was born on January 1st and after a week we were given the news that she has a heart condition called complete AVSD (Complete atrioventricular septal defect). This came as a shock to Emily and I as nothing was detected during pregnancy. We are now waiting for a call from Bristol where Esme will undergo open heart surgery. 

During this difficult time, Emily and I found comfort in connecting with others who had a shared experience and talking with different charities which is why I have chosen to do “The great north run” for Tiny Tickers. Ceiran and Ben have also signed up and will be doing the run with myself. 


A little about Tiny Tickers and their aim -

A baby is born with a serious heart condition every two hours in the UK and despite congenital heart disease being one of the biggest killers of infants, only around half of congenital heart defects are picked up during routine prenatal scanning. With your help we can provide a safety net for the 1,000 babies each year that leave hospital with their heart defect undetected, increasing detection rates, improving a babys chances of survival and long-term quality of life.

We exist to help babies with serious heart conditions – giving them a better start in life and the best possible chance for their future. 

We help drive improvements in survival rates and quality of life for these babies; and we help their families cope with what is a very difficult time. 

We help to increase early detection rates of cardiac defects – our innovative sonographer training programme has helped the national average antenatal detection rate to more than double from 23% to 53.5% (NICOR).

Any donation, no matter how small, will go to ensuring babies are detected as soon as medically possible. For the majority, this means problems being spotted during pregnancy. The money will go towards training and support to sonographers, fund equipment and support new technologies, influence service standards and provide information advice and access to support for families.