“After 7 weeks in hospital, we are finally home with our little girl – Honey.
“Honey has been through more in her first 7 weeks of life than most of us will in a lifetime.
“Born with a heart defect – coarctated aorta – she’s battled a chest infection, a stomach infection, and a 6-hour open heart surgery to repair her heart.
Coarctation of the aorta means part of the main artery in the body is narrower than it should be. The narrowing stops blood from flowing as easily as it should, so the heart has to work harder to pump blood through the body. This can cause the left ventricle (one of your heart’s main pumping chambers) to become thicker and your heart to become weaker.
“Through it all she has shown a strength that we can only describe as incredible. She will have a scar, but that scar will always be a testament to her bravery and how hard she has fought from day one. We couldn’t be prouder of her.
“We want to publicly thank all of the amazing staff at Leeds Children’s Hospital who cared for her over the past 7 weeks. You truly are unbelievable at what you do. A special thank you to Dr Jaber, who performed the life-saving operation that has given her the chance to live a long and healthy life.
“We’re also so grateful to the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund for their support, and to our close friends and family who have helped us more than they probably realise during this time.
“Now we’re finally home, we can start being a normal family and focus on what really matters – making memories together.”
— Honey’s parents, Connor & Kate
Because of you, we can keep being there for heart heroes like Honey and their families.
By making a donation to CHSF you are ensuring vital funding to the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and personalised support to families when they need us most.
Beau’s Story #BabyLossAwarenessWeek
written by mum Tilly-May “Back in February of this year (2024) we went for our 20-week anomaly scan at Bassetlaw. Unfortunately, a clear view of Beau’s heart could not be seen so we were sent to Leeds General Infirmary so the cardiology team there (who are one of the...
Game4Hearts: Jessica
Jessica was born with a hole in her heart and had open heart surgery when she was 8 years old. During her time in hospital, gaming provided a huge relief, joy and distraction from her treatment and continues to play a big part in her life.In 2021, Jessica decided to...
Adalee
written by heart dad Jerome "Adalee was born 9 weeks early. All was going well, and she was soon transferred from York, where she was born, nearer to home in Scunthorpe. This is when they picked up on a slight heart murmur that would be monitored as she went on. "She...