Young players and families from Kirkburton JFC near Huddersfield show that teamwork really does make the dream work with their most recent fundraiser…
Kirkburton Junior Football Club players and families chose to raise money for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund after seeing how one of there own was supported after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
When Freddie Emberton was born on 21 September last year, he required heart surgery straight after birth due to having a hole in his heart and a narrowed aorta.
Freddie stayed at Leeds Children’s Hospital for just over three weeks for life-saving treatment at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and now his heart has made a full recovery!
Even though it may be a little while yet until he’s lacing up his boots, Freddie already has his own Kirkburton JFC top and cheers on his brothers, Joshua and George when they play!
Freddie was diagnosed with CHD at birth and had open heart surgery straight away to correct his heart defects.
Heart dad Jon told us a bit more about the fundraiser:
“The cup consisted of parents and coaches from various age groups of the club entering a team to play in a two-tiered competition (the Cup and the Plate). In total there were nine teams and around 50 parents/coaches who played in the competition.”
“There was certainly some that were trying to relive their youthful playing days, whilst others making tactical substitutions due to fitness levels. There were thankfully not many injuries! All matches were played in great spirit with full support from the side-lines and occasional heckling from the kids!”
“Congratulations went to the Cup winners, U11’s (Dave Jowett) and the Plate winners, U15’s (Andy Pearson), who both received impressive awards kindly donated by Fox Engravers, Almondbury!”
“A special thanks goes to those who helped to referee the games, Charlie Pearson and Evan Hufton (who are working their way through their referring courses), Neil Thornton a coach and Cheggs!”
“Whilst the cup competition was on the go, Rachel had also reached out to local stall holders. She invited them attend the event to further raise funds for CHSF and provide a boost of energy for all.”
“Whether that be a: beer or gin at JD’s Bar; sweets from Hey Sweetheart; cookies from Northern Cookie House; buns and cakes from Busy Bee Bakery; Body Shop from Sarah Sykes; the tombola held by Kirkburton First school PTA or our raffle!”
“I would say that organising the event was surprisingly easy, but every little helps and anything can be achieved to help raise funds for charities when you put your mind to it!”
“To Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, thank you for supporting our family and so many other families!”
As well as the fundraising day, Kirkburton Junior FC have truly committed to our cause by having the CHSF logo printed on their football kits which will be used for the next two years!
Community and Events Fundraiser Eve went along to meet the team and collect their fundraising:
“It was fantastic to see the Junior team in their new kits! It’s so great to see CHSF being promoted in the local community alongside a fantastic fundraising event organised by the parents!”
A phenomenal £2,726 was raised from the Parent’s Cup and fundraising day at Kirkburton JFC!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this day such a success – we’re so grateful for your amazing support!
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Heart dad Col from Hull and 6 mates have travelled the length of the country (literally) to raise funds for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
After both his children, Corey and Rose, were treated for congenital heart disease at Leeds, Col got his friends together to see how they could fundraise and say thank you for the support his family received from CHSF.
Both Col’s children, Corey and Rose, have received life-saving treatment at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit
Col said:
Our first involvement with Childrens Heart Surgery Fund was with our son, Corey, in 2013 when he was 7. Corey had a supraventricular tachycardia. This is where the heart suddenly starts beating at a very fast rate.
Corey was on medication for a few years until he was big enough in size to have the operation in 2017. The operation, performed by Dr Blackburn, was ablation therapy where they needed to burn the short circuit on his heart. The operation was a success.
“A few weeks after Corey had his operation we found out we were having another baby. The pregnancy was all normal and Rose was born in December 2017.
“However, there were complications as soon as Rose was born and she spent the first week of her life in the NICU ward at Hull Royal. She was then transferred to LGI for more scans on test on her heart. We discovered that Rose had something called Hemitruncus.”
“Hemitruncus is a very rare congenital anomaly and we were told Rose would have to undergo open heart surgery to try and correct this condition.”
“On our first night at LGI we arrived very late and wondered where we would be able to stay. The nurses on the ward gave us a key to a room on the Brotherton Wing and they told us this room was funded by Children’s Heart surgery Fund and was ours for as long as we needed it.”
“Rose underwent her heart surgery when she was 13 days old and she was to stay in hospital for a further three weeks afterwards to recover.”
“When Rose was in hospital, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund gave us a key for the parent rooms in the hospital where we could stay and be close to her. We are from Hull so it would have been very difficult travelling every day. These rooms are great for families who are going through difficult times. All free of charge as well.”
While Rose had open heart surgery, Col and his wife were able to stay at the hospital free of charge, in a room funded by CHSF
“Everything about our stay was made so much easier by the staff on the ward, the room we were given by CHSF (which essentially became our home for 4 weeks) and to both of the wonderful surgeons who worked miracles on our children.”
Five years on, Colin and six of his school friends decided to embark on an epic, five-day-long motorcycle ride to raise money for CHSF.
The group of friends started out on their vintage Honda Cub 90s bikes from Lands’ End, journeying all the way to John o’ Groats at the tip of Scotland – travelling at no more than 40-50mph the whole way!
We asked Col if there was any advice, he would give to other fundraisers thinking of doing something for CHSF…
“I’d say just go for it and raise some money for a great charity! Don’t forget to use social media to promote what you are doing.”
Col added…
“Just thank you to all involved in helping this amazing charity. I’ll never forget what they have done for my kids.”
Community and Events Fundraiser, Eve said:
“Col and his friends took on such a fantastic challenge, driving Honda Cub 90s from one end of the UK to other.”
“Their fundraising efforts have been amazing, and the monies raised will go to helping babies, children and adults living with congenital heart disease.”
“Thank you so much to Col and the team!”
A huge thank you to everyone who made a donation to this fantastic fundraiser.
In total, over £3,000 raised for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. We are so very grateful!
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We recently met up with Harry and his son Paul, an adult patient who had surgery seven years ago, to thank them for their incredible support of the CHSF Lottery!
Harry Haddock and his family are keen supporters of our
lotteryand have been members for a number of years now. Harry has so far signed up a whopping
63numbers!
Harry said:
“I see the lottery as a way of giving back to the charity who have supported both Paul and my other family members. My niece’s granddaughter is currently awaiting her next surgery.”
“I enjoy signing up my family and friends and those who have supported me over the years. As well as it helping CHSF, it gives them all a chance to take home the weekly prize.”
For just £1 a week, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund’s lottery gives supporters the chance of winning £100 every single week!
Because our lottery is much smaller than most, there are more chances of being the lucky winner. Bonus! If you sign up for a whole year you will get two weeks free!
Sign up to take part in our lottery today – you could even split the cost and set up a syndicate at work or with friends and family!
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Local Tottenham super-fans, the ‘Yorkshire Spurs’, invited Hotspur legends to play against them in a charity football match last month – and they’ve smashed their fundraising goals!
The team chose to fundraise for CHSF after being inspired by their captain, Steve’s, story with congenital heart disease…
We spoke to Steve and asked him to talk to us a bit more about his story and how the whole Yorkshire Spurs team came together to raise money for good causes.
“Back in July 2019 I suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed whilst out on a run near home. After being given CPR by a passer by and a number of shocks with a defibrillator I was airlifted to LGI where I was later diagnosed with a rare congenital heart condition.
I underwent open heart surgery to fix the condition and spent three weeks in hospital under the care of the congenital cardiology team. I have since made a full recovery and remain under the care of the cardiology team who have helped to ensure that it is safe for me to return to exercising.
Despite their name, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund also help adult congenital heart patients and I have benefited directly from the knowledge they have shared of heart conditions.
The research and training that they help to fund have ensured that I’ve received the best care possible over the last few years. The equipment that they raise money for will help more patients in better ways, as well as helping to diagnose more congenital heart conditions earlier.
Through the Yorkshire Spurs supporters club we pulled a squad of players together and played a football match against a team of Spurs Legends.
As a squad we each raised money leading up to the event as well as proceeds from gate receipts, a raffle and a penalty shoot-out all being donated. It was an incredible experience for all involved.
“As a group of football-mad Spurs fans we could not think of a better way of raising money!”
We were managed by legendary former Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt who has played against the likes of David Howells, Mark Falco and Pascal Chimbonda. Gary provided a very inspiring team talk before the match.
The result very much went in favour of the Legends and ended 9-1 but it was all about the experience for everyone involved on the day – the players, fans and organisers of the event all got to rub shoulders with heroes we used to cheer from the stands for in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s.
Most importantly everyone was aware of the amazing amount that had been raised for both Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and the JE3 Foundation, another important heart-related charity who focus on raising awareness of CPR and ensuring that defibrillators are available in all sporting locations across the UK.
My advice to anyone thinking of fundraising would be find something that you enjoy doing and set yourself a challenging target whilst doing it. Make sure you have lots of fun and show your enthusiasm and passion both for the cause you’re raising money for and the activity you’re doing.
As a group of football-mad Spurs fans we could not think of a better way of raising money than the event we got to take part in here.
CHSF are playing an important role in ensuring that child and adult congenital heart patients across the Yorkshire region are getting the best care and treatment possible. Having gone through a number of years of treatment and care myself now, I can see the benefits that their research and funding is bringing with new technology emerging ensuring earlier detection of heart conditions.
There has been an incredible amount of work that has gone into the organisation of this event and the chairman of the Yorkshire Spurs supporters club, Paul Pavlou, should be very proud of the work he’s done in making this happen!
YORKSHIRE SPURS
MANAGER: Gary Mabbutt ASSISTANT MANAGER: George Hearson
Squad: Rich Partridge, Richard Bramham, Robin Clarke, Daniel King, Jon Wilkinson, Wayne Davies, Lee Palmer, Chris Biggs, Wayne Farmer, Rich Taylor, Rob Leonard, Dan Bramham, Damian Rushton, Paul Metcalf, Alex Jukes, Andy Arnill, Steve Reynolds, Phil Smith
SPURS LEGENDS
MANAGER: John Lacy ASSISTANT MANAGER: Steve King
Squad: Neil Sullivan, Pascal Chimbonda, Charlie Edinburgh, Brian Statham, David Kerslake, Ramon Vega, Kevin Watson, Stuart Nethercott, Clive Wilson, Andy Edmonds, Stephen Clemence, Michael Brown, Sean Davis, David Howells, Tony Galvin, Jeff Minton, Paul McVeigh, Mark Falco
A huge thank you to everyone at Yorkshire Spurs for organising this special fundraising event. Thank you to all who took part on the day and, of course, to everyone who made a donation.
In total over £4,000 raised for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. we are so very grateful!
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Cockburn School in Beeston, Leeds have recently completed some fundraising in memory of classmate Lucas Denham who sadly passed away in December last year.
CHSF’s Lisa and Lauren met Lucas’ mum Alison along with some of the staff and students who took part in raising funds for CHSF…
In memory of Lucas
written by mum, Alison
We are so grateful that Lucas’s high school, which was Cockburn School in Leeds, have fundraised by holding a Non-Uniform Day and have made a donation to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund in Lucas’s memory.
Lucas passed away suddenly on 30th December 2021. He was born with an undetected AVSD and was a cardiac patient from 3 weeks old onwards.
Lucas had three open heart surgeries at the LGI and was operated on by the legend Mr Kevin Watterson. This resulted in him having a mechanical mitral valve.
We were fortunate enough to be gifted an INR machine through CHSF when Lucas was 6 months old which enabled us to test his blood at home.
We have been so grateful for everything the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit has done for Lucas and the support we were given from Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
Lucas was an amazing young man, everyone that met him or was a part of his life will never forget him – he has touched so many lives in his own special way.
He never complained even though he had to face some tough health and physical challenges throughout his life. Although, when he wasn’t impressed with something you knew it and he wasn’t shy in telling you either!
Lucas didn’t let anything get him down. He always had a smile on his face, and we were all so proud of everything he managed to achieve.
He was loud, had no filter and that was his unique personality. Lucas was the most loving, caring son we could ever have; who we loved unconditionally from the day he was born.
He has left a huge, empty void in all our lives which will never be filled but we are so so proud to have been his parents.
We are so grateful to staff and students of Cockburn School for choosing to raise vital funds for Children’s Hearts Surgery Fund in Lucas’s memory.
Your amazing donation of £200 will go on to help other heart warriors and families, like Lucas. Thank you.
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Last month, ten Install Engineers from international engineering company KONE challenged themselves to take on the brutal Total Warrior.
They braved the grueling 6km course to raise funds for CHSF after a colleague’s daughter needed life-saving treatment at the heart unit in Leeds.
The ten engineers volunteered to take up the Total Warrior challenge to support their colleague and friend James Simpson, Vicky his wife and their daughter – heart warrior Hollie.Hollie was born with a complex heart defect and the family are currently receiving invaluable support in Hollie’s fight for recovery from Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
Hollie’s story journey so far…
At 22 weeks into their pregnancy, James and Vicky found out that their little girl had a serious heart condition. They were given an option to terminate the pregnancy or have palliative care surgery that would rebuild the blood flow to her heart.
Hollie’s mum and dad decided to continue with the pregnancy and Hollie was born on 5th January 2022, weighing 6lb 3oz.
Due to the seriousness of Hollie’s condition, James and Vicky never got to hold their newborn baby, as Hollie was taken for surgery almost straight away after she was born. Less than 24 hours in the world and Hollie was already in surgery for a 10 hour operation on her heart.
James and Vicky were told the surgery was a complex one as they were ‘re-plumbing’ a tiny heart that supplies all Hollie’s organs and brain – this surgery would be creating a new circulation. Mum and dad were told that the operation had an 80% chance of working but a 50% chance of recovery, due to how complex a surgery it was.
More than six months after she was born, Hollie is still in hospital receiving treatment and has since had a second heart surgery called the ‘Glenn Procedure’.
Mum Vicky gave us an update on Hollie:
“Hollie stayed on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) until she was nearly five months old. She struggled getting off the ventilator and caught numerous infections, including pneumonia and sepsis.”“We eventually were able to take her off the ventilator at Easter. Hollie was then taken to Ward L51 – the children’s heart ward. She stayed on the ward until the 15th June 2022, where Hollie went for her second open heart surgery – the Glenn.”
“The Glenn operation went well, but Hollie had some complications. After five days we returned to Ward L51. Hollie still needed oxygen, but we eventually weaned her off last week (first week in July).” “We are currently still on the children’s heart ward, three weeks post Glenn, battling with stomach and feeding issues. Once this is resolved we are hopeful that we will be able to go home.”On Sunday 26th June the ten workmates met the mud in the brutal 6km assault course.“I am overwhelmed with what the team from KONE have done. By taking on Total Warrior they have supported our daughter and such a great cause – Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.”
The Total Warrior route is designed to not only test participants physically, but trial their mental stamina and determination too.
The KONE team said:
“Hollie will always be classed has high risk due to her heart condition and will require a further surgery called the Fontan at four years old, and many more small procedures over the years.” “The charity have already played a huge part in supporting the family through this time and have been invaluable.” “Our way of showing our support in their fight is to raise money for this great charity to ensure they are there for future years and families.”
The KONE team smashed the Total Warrior course last month and raised a phenomenal £5,285.44 for CHSF in the process.
A huge thank you to Joanna, Cameron, Chris, Ewan, Kadan, Luke, Mic, Phil and Jacob for taking on Total Warrior and thank you as well to everyone who made a donation and contributed to this fantastic total!
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We are celebrating heart hero Isabel (8) who has just won her THIRD award in recognition of her incredible fundraising for CHSF!
Isabel picked up the ‘Young Star Award’ at Crags Radio Community Star Awards after they heard about all the amazing things she’s been doing to raise money for our charity.
The Young Star Award from Crags Radio is just the latest in awards that Isabel has receive for her fundraising for CHSF.
Isabel has previously been awarded the ‘Hero of Bolsover’ presented by MP Mark Fletcher for outstanding fundraising during the Covid crisis.
Her third award was from the Community Unity Project. This is a local support group set up during COVID who presented Isabel with an award – once again for outstanding fundraising during the pandemic.
We asked Isabel’s mum Natalie to tell us a bit more about what Isabel and her family have been up to raise funds for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and what inspires them to keep doing so…
Isabel was diagnosed my 24 week scan with a very complex heart condition. She has Tetralogy of Fallot, Double Outlet Right Ventricle and Ventricular Septal Defects.
Although we live in Creswell near Worksop, Isabel was born in Leeds and went on to have a full repair in March 2014 at 17 weeks old.
As well as having congenital heart disease, Isabel is also Autistic with Sensory Processing Disorder and Global Delay. She never stops, and we are often asked “Are you sure she’s got heart issues?”
Currently Isabel is keeping further surgery at bay by being very active and having lots of energy. We’ve been told several times of this wasn’t the case she’d have needed surgery by now. So all these charity walks are paying off!
What inspires us as a family after all these years of fundraising is that Isabel will once again need more surgery and that we will once again need to rely on having accommodation to be close to Isabel during her hospital stay, and the support provided by Childrens Heart Surgery Fund.
CHSF continually rely on fundraising to be able to carry on supporting the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit. If we can raise a few extra pounds to help them achieve this, it’s only a small part of our thanks for being able to make every day memories with Isabel
“…you only ever truly understand a charity and the work they do when you’re in a situation where you need their support.”
Some of our favourite fundraisers are the early coffee mornings and race nights and events that bring the community we live in together. We also found a few other families who also have children under Leeds Congenital Heart Unit who live in the same area.
A favourite event for Isabel’s Daddy, Kev, was helping CHSF a few years back with raising money alongside Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. We both helped at a county game selling tickets, and then Kev was invited back for an England test game again to support CHSF where he met Charity Ambassador Dickie Bird.
Some other fundraising our family has done for CHSF…
- Sheffield Half Marathon raising £511 – and now Isabel’s Daddy, Kev, and Uncle Steve have signed up for a third time to run it in 2023!
- Charity Bike Ride – From Skegness to our home in Creswell Derbyshire. That was ridden by Daddy, Uncle Steve and Grandad Phil.
- We’ve put on several coffee mornings, toy sales, raffles, race nights, ladies nights and even selling reindeer food at Christmas.
- Isabel herself has done lots of charity walks, including CHSF’s annual Superhero Walk.
We wouldn’t be able to achieve all this without the amazing support of our friends, family and the people in our community who continually support our fundraising.
My husband said a few days ago, you only ever truly understand a charity and the work they do when you’re in a situation where you need their support. CHSF supports the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit. We know Isabel will once again need further life-saving open heart surgery. For us, this a way to give something back.
Isabel’s latest fundraiser is already underway as she is taking part this year’s CHSF Superhero Walk.
We are so incredibly grateful to Isabel and the whole Morris family for all the amazing support you have given and continue to give the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. It is only because of people like you we are able to keep supporting our heart unit, patients and families thank you.
Isabel – we are so incredibly proud of you and all you have achieved. Thank you.
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Written by Charlotte, auntie to Rosalie
Nine days after my beautiful niece Rosalie was born, she became critically ill after collapsing in A&E. She was taken to PICU at Leeds Children’s Hospital where she was diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta and a VSD and needed life-saving surgery.
My Sister and Brother in Law’s world was tipped upside down. Words can not describe the emotions and worry you feel as you witness your family trying to cope in such traumatic circumstances. I wanted to help but I didn’t know how…
So myself and three of Kathryn’s close friends – Vicky, Bec and Gemma – decided we would do some fundraising for this fantastic charity.
Me, Bec and Gemma ran the Tatton 10k on the 9th April and Vicky ran 50 miles barefoot throughout April. We were so pleased with all of our runs and achieved personal bests all round.
Our initial goal was to raise enough money to buy some lamb comforters and have them embroidered, to send into PICU and L51 (the children’s heart ward). Then any remaining money would be donated to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
I had no idea we would raise over three times more than our initial goal. Thank you will never be enough to our incredible friends and family for donating and helping us achieve this.
We are eternally grateful for everything Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit has done for our family and saving little Rosalie’s life!
You are all super humans and we are totally in awe of your dedication, motivation and hard work saving lives, comforting and helping patients and their families cope during the most stressful times.
I can’t wait to do some more fundraising for CHSF in the future. Every penny donated could not be spent any better ❤️
Rosalie’s mum Kathryn said:
“We are so grateful to the girls for their fundraising and for all the generous donations from our family and friends.”
“CHSF are there for you from the minute you arrive with a welcome bag of essentials, a room to stay in, food vouchers, someone to talk to…nothing is too much trouble. Looking back we would have felt very lost without all the support we had from everyone.”
“Leeds Congenital Heart Unit saved our daughters life and we are forever thankful. Supporting this charity for others to receive the best support and treatment is very close to our hearts and we will certainly be doing more fundraising in the future to try and give as much back as we can in thanks for everything everyone has done for Rosalie and us as a family.”
Charlotte, Vicky, Bec and Gemma raised a phenomenal £3,490 for our heart unit, patients and families during their #RunForRosalie fundraising challenge and we are so incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed!
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This month we are celebrating a fantastic group of fundraisers from HMP Moorland who braved the drop for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
Work mates Simon, Steve, Linda, Matthew, Michael, Mark, Curtis, Nathan and Richard completed their Skydive on Wed 18th May and collectively raised an amazing £3,454!
Why did you choose to fundraise for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund?
As a team we have conducted quite a few charitable events in the past, most have been for personal reasons that were close to our heart.
On this occasion, we wanted to organise an event that hit a wider spectrum of people. Everyone who has participated, or donated agrees that Children’s Heart Surgery Fund was a brilliant course and very worthwhile.
As a group, we have been fortunate to not need the services of Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. But we have a volunteer at our workplace who sadly lost his twin brother at birth due to a heart defect.
Each member of the HMP Moorland team jumped 15,000 ft to raise money for CHSF!
Is there any advice you would give to other fundraisers?
As a fundraiser, be passionate and enthusiastic about the event! Keep in touch and communicate with the CHSF Fundraising Team to help you get from A to B.
As the fundraiser, it’s difficult to know how much an individual has raised, so again ask for frequent updates – they are there to help you.
Make your own posters etc, to help with the administration and advertising. Send the volunteers as much information about the event as possible.
Is there anything else you would like to say about CHSF?
A big shout out to Lisa Williams and the fundraising team for helping me throughout the organisation. Updates and communications were frequent and information was passed on to show the team how the donations were helping the charity. These definitely put a tear in everyone’s eyes.
I personally believe Children’s Heart Surgery Fund is a brilliant charity that helps parents when they are at their lowest. Even if it’s just a teddy bear to put a smile on a child’s face, funds to help accommodate families, or funds towards an ECMO machine. This was an event worthwhile!
Thank you once again to the team from HMP Moorland and to everyone who donated to their fundraiser!
Over £3K raised to support our regions heart unit, CHD warriors and their families. Thank you so much!
Feeling inspired and want to raise funds for CHSF?
We still have places for you to Skydive for CHSF this year and we’re always on hand to help with any other fundraising ideas you have.
Call 0113 831 4810, email lauren.procter@chsf.org.uk or send us a message using the ‘Chat’ icon on the bottom of this page.
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While her son Sammy was in hospital recovering from open heart surgery, heart mum Emma decided she wanted to raise funds for the charity that looked after her family.
With her sights set on the Paris Marathon, heart dad Rich also wanted to get in on the fundraising action and set himself his own challenge of walking the Edale Skyline.
Sammy’s mum, Emma
In 2018 I gave birth to Sammy. At 5 weeks old he was diagnosed with TAPVR which is a type of congenital heart disease and the following day we were transferred to Leeds.
Sammy had his first open heart surgery a week later. Recovery was tricky and we were in and out of hospital for different procedures. At this time my dear dad died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Life felt pretty horrible.
A few months later Sammy was diagnosed with pulmonary vein stenosis and had his second open heart surgery at 7 months old.
Thankfully his scans are now going well, and he is growing into a wonderful little boy.
Children’s Heart Surgery Fund helped us so much in 2018. They provide rooms for parents and families and we stayed in these when Sammy was in intensive care.
They provide psychological support which we accessed a lot, especially after the loss of my dad. They provide breast feeding pumping equipment which meant I could continue to breastfeed Sammy throughout it all. They also fundraise to purchase new equipment and technology.
Sammy after open heart surgery
Sammy was in Paris to cheer his mummy on
Training for a marathon through the winter, with a young family and work can be hard but I was motivated by raising money for this important charity.
As I was setting off, I got quite emotional because I remember sitting in hospital when Sammy was recovering thinking “when life gets better I will raise money to thank the charity that looked after us so well” – and there I was, now doing just that!
We had a great time in Paris afterwards too! Thanks so much to everyone for the donations. I am so touched by how much we raised.
Sammy’s dad, Rich
Edale Skyline is long distance walk in the Peak District. It is a 20 mile walk across some undulating terrain and is a physical and mental challenge.
Children Heart Surgery Fund provided us with accommodation and support throughout Sammy’s two stays at Leeds General Hospital. I can’t really put into words how difficult this period was for Me and Em and having that ease and comfort of onsite accommodation proved to be invaluable for me.
It meant I could be there to support Sammy and Emma whilst they were on the ward or PICU and I was only ever a short walk away from them when they needed me in the early hours of the morning.
The charity also continues to support children like Sammy and parents like us through some extremely tough times and I’ll be forever grateful to them and the medical staff at Leeds Children’s Hospital for the fantastic care they provided.
I spent some time during the walk reflecting on how far Sammy’s come on in the last two years and counting my blessings for what a truly wonderful young boy he’s turning out to be.
Rich and his friends took on Edale Skyline
Sammy now, playing in the park
We did the Edale Skyline on the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and we had a fantastic day. The weather was very kind to us. I was suffering a bit for a few days afterwards with some lovely blisters on each heel and some very sore legs!
Many thanks to Jon, Jon, Martin, Crownie and Ed for joining me. I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that’s contributed to Sammy’s charity. I’m blown away by the amount that we’ve raised.