Here we are - Team Koro - a bit mad but very determined 5 girls: Raquel, Danuta, Julie, Gabi and Sabine with our lovely doggy companion, Alma. For those interested in the meaning of words - koro in Esperanto means heart. We believe in the matters of the heart and we are a bit Esperanto ourselves coming from Spain, Poland, England and Germany. We all have been touched in one way or another by a heart problem. 

We are walking 50K from London to Henley on 12th May to raise awareness of heart disease and support the British Heart Foundation in their life saving research. 

Danuta's story: I was young, fit and active, taking my health for granted and a heart disease was far from my mind until... I was diagnosed with a heart failure in 2013. I caught a virus of an unknown origin while travelling across Asia. It turned out I had a congenital disease I was never aware of, the cusps of my aortic valve  weren't formed perfectly and weren't closing fully but I was never symptomatic living a very active and sporty life. When the virus hit, my heart simply could not compensate anymore and the valve gave in starting to leak severely. I had an open heart surgery in April 2014 - a Ross Procedure with both my aortic and my pulmonary valves replaced. I will be entirely grateful to Mr Chris Blauth, the most amazing surgeon at St. Thomas' Hospital who took care of me and literally held my heart in his hands. THANK YOU! The recovery was not easy, a struggle really. I never regained the fitness level I used to have and I had to give up sports. My husband thought a little soul and a bundle of puppy energy in the house would help me to recover. And he was right - Alma helped me to believe that life could be good again - when we lose something we also gain something, sometimes the 'gain' is just not so easy to see... Here we are then, Alma and I, and we are walking! 50km will be a real challenge for me but I trust that with the support of my friends: Julie, Raquel, Gabi and Sabine who are walking with me, and the never ending stamina of my beloved Alma, I will be able to complete the challenge and not let you down. 

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives. It's only thanks to support from people like us that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures. Every pound helps so please give what you can to help us hit our team target. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!

Raquel's story: I met Danuta...years ago, through kayaking. I immediately knew we would be friends for a long long time. When she came back from her journey to Asia I found difficult to believe the seriousness of her medical problems. And when she ended up having a failing heart diagnosis, and open heart surgery was in the agenda I could not start to comprehend it, Dana was young,  always on for outdoor stuff and a very active person. She was determined to get her fitness back and as soon as the medical team thought she was ready, she started her rehabilitation. It turned out to be harder than she expected though and it has taken her some time. That June in 2014 I joined the London to Brighton cycle ride to raise money for the BHF. Almost five years  after her surgery Dana asked if I would be part of the team walking with her to support the BHF. Of course I said yes! I am so glad she wanted me to do this challenge with her, and her beloved Alma. Julie, Gabi and Sabine were also joining her. What a team!