At CHSF, we a so grateful witness countless inspiring stories of strength and resilience from children and their families as they navigate the challenges of congenital heart conditions.
Sonny is just one of those children…
Sonny’s dad, Adam, writes:
“Our son Sonny has tricuspid atresia.
“He is now 8 and had his Fontan procedure on 19th May of this year.
“Thankfully Sonny made a very good recovery and was able to leave hospital two weeks later. He has continued recovering well.
“On the 2nd September we went to Hutfest which is a running event. Sonny entered the children’s fun run and managed to complete the 1 mile distance!
“This was a huge milestone for Sonny. Prior to his surgery, he struggled to walk up the stairs in our house without getting out of breath.
“Me and my wife, Caroline, are forever grateful to all the staff on Ward L51, especially to Miss Carin Van Doorn who carried out the procedure.
“Finally thank you to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund who helped us massively with the accommodation during the early days of surgery, plus being there on the ward regularly with gifts and entertainment.
“We just wanted to say a big thank you!”
We’re sure you’ll join us in celebrating Sonny’s extraordinary milestone, made possible by our amazing Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and the generous contributions of our CHSF supporters.
Well done, Sonny. Always keep going for gold!


PICU Staff Room Upgrade
Thanks to your donations, the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit staff room received a much-needed update to its décor, appliances, facilities, seating and storage. A huge thank you to Lauren Nuttall, family and friends for their significant contribution towards this...
Luca’s Story
The awesome team at Enterprise Mobility all got behind their colleague Francesca this February to celebrate Wear Red Day. Francesca's son Luca was born with congenital heart defects and needed life-saving open heart surgery at just one week old.Francesca said: “We...
Support for families: March 2025
CHSF are there for every step of the CHD journey, from diagnosis right through to transition and adulthood. In March 2025, our Family Support team had yet another busy month working to build empowered lives for families and patients across our region. We can only do...