Blake’s mum, Chelsea, said:
“My partner Matthew and I found out that Blake had something wrong with his heart when he suddenly was really poorly on 30th September 2022.
“We took him to Chesterfield Hospital to be seen and Matthew and I were told he had sepsis, as well as two big infections. We were told he needed to be put on a ventilator and taken to Manchester to be in intensive care.
“Once we were in Manchester, we found out Blake had a heart condition called mitral valve regurgitation. It was severe and need to be operated on.
“After a week in Manchester paediatric intensive care unit, we were transferred to Leeds Children’s Hospital where Blake was seen by the cardiac surgical team straight away. They came up with a plan to operate as soon as possible which was very scary for me and Matthew.
“Blake had his first open heart surgery on 13th October, and his second on 25th October to have a mechanical valve put in.
“Children’s Heart Surgery Fund has helped me and Matthew so much. They brought us toiletries when we arrived at Leeds and had nothing with us. When we were low on funds they helped us with travel costs. This meant that our family could come up to Leeds support us when we needed it most.
“Thank you for everything you have done for us. It’s really helped having this extra support at a such hard time.
“Blake is now doing great. He’s like a normal toddler – gets up to mischief a lot! He goes to preschool, and he loves it. He has a check up on his heart every six months due to having a mechanical valve. So far the checks are fine.
“Blake recently became a big brother and he’s the best big brother.”
CHSF exists to support local heart warriors and their families. Empowered lives, because of you. There is no better way to explain our charity than using a powerful story – like yours.
Warrior Wednesday: Isabel
Heart warrior Isabel is 8 and lives in Worksop. She had open heart surgery at Leeds when she was 3 months old. Mum Natalie tells us about Isabel's CHD journey, her daughter's diagnosis of Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder and the challenges of treating both...
Warrior Wednesday: Freya
The McCombe family were just settling in at home as a new family of four when the midwife noticed something wasn't quite right with baby Freya. Freya's mum, Holly, tells us about their journey with congenital heart disease so far and how Freya and her family have been...
Introducing new trustee Colin Clewes
Colin Clewes is an adult CHD patient and owns Pennine Signs in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire! Colin has had a coarctation repair, a partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage repaired and he has a bicuspid aortic valve. He has been a huge CHSF supporter over the years,...