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.
A huge well done to Emma for completing her Paris Marathon challenge and Rich and friends for the Edale Skyline.
Together they raised an incredible £2,103 for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. Thank you so much to everyone who made a donation.
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