Sonny was undiagnosed with coarctation of the aorta in 2016! It took 3 weeks of battling numerous Gp’s, A+E  staff and paediatricians, health visitors, family and friends to convince them to listen to me they he was poorly! I got told I was over anxious and I started to believe I was going crazy! But one Gp listened - “he’s a little breathless isn’t he” YES!! He is! We were sent straight to A&E (again) and our journey Began! He had emergency surgery on 23rd feb 2016 where the surgeon told us we were lucky he made it that long! He was in severe heart failure, his lower body was getting minimal blood flow and his blood pressure was higher than a hypertensive adult! I was terrified!!

Since that day sonny has been my hero! His coarctation is “fixed” but he’s not cured with a risk of it returning as he grows but he also has a bicuspid aortic valve! He is healthy but he will have limits to jobs he can do and maybe even what sports he can undertake and may possibly need surgery again in his life! 

I’m proud of him but the journey from his birth to surgery was so so tough! We could have lost him - a thought that makes me cry to this very day! But sadly too many babies die in this country because Congenital heart disease goes undetected and babies are discharged home! 

Enter tiny tickers! Their work pushes early detection and awareness to help prevent undiagnosis as well as supporting parents who go through then emotional rollercoaster of the CHD journey - especially when that journey has the worst possible outcome! 

So I run for sonny - my hero and warrior - he (and all heart warriors) have strength I didn’t know possible! 

Let’s help more babies be diagnosed and give them the life they were born to have!! 

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.