This week is heart week and to raise awareness around congenital heart disease (CHD) and raise money for charity our 20 month old son is climbing up and down our stairs 125 times. Phineas (Phin) was born with an incredibly complex heart, among his defects he had several holes, his left lung was only connected via a tiny conduit and his pulmonary artery was missing. If the sonographer hadn’t picked up on his defects at our 20 week scan there is a chance he may not have survived long after birth. Luckily they did and he spent his first 8 weeks in Great Ormond Street where the surgeons worked their magic. In his first 7 months he had four heart procedures including two open heart surgeries and he will need more as he gets older too. This doesn’t stop him from being a busy toddler and keeping up with his siblings.

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 baby’s chances of survival and long-term quality of life.