“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.
Warrior Wednesday: The Story of Raeyaan
Heart dad Kapre wanted to make sure his son Raeyaan knew everything about his heart journey when he got older, and so Kapre committed to writing everything down in a book - 'The Story of Raeyaan'. In this blog we share the some of the first chapters of this amazing...
Fundraiser of the Month: Hall and Varley Families
After six months of preparation and a whole lot of heart, the Hall and Varley families of Kippax Leeds put on a super Polar Express themed Christmas Party to raise funds for CHSF. Children were invited to attend in their pyjamas and the hosting families dressed as...
WEAR RED FOR EVIE
Heart warrior Evie is just one of the thousands of babies, children and adults living with congenital heart disease in our region who are supported by CHSF. Evie's mummy Chelsea has kindly told us all about their family's story so far and why they'll be wearing red...







