My name is James. I am seven years old.

I was born with three holes in my heart and a Bicuspid Aortic Valve. These are called Congenital Heart Defects.

By the time I was around five years old, two of the holes closed on their own so I am now left with one hole and a Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV).

A BAV means I only have two flaps on my valve instead of three which means my heart valve could narrow and leak over time, making it harder for my heart to pump blood. I have regular check-ups at East Surrey Hospital and The Royal Brompton Hospital in London. I always get a bit of a day out when my family take me to The Royal Brompton. Last time I went there, we went to The Natural History Museum afterwards.

I sometimes feel unwell with chest pain and I feel tired sometimes too and get a bit short of breath when I run about too much but my family and I want me to have a normal childhood so I always do everything I want to do but I have to be quite grown up and let someone know if I feel unwell straight away. My school are amazing and take good care of me and my Mum, Dad and older brother are always close by when I need them.

My heart may not have been made perfectly but I feel very fortunate to be a child with a heart condition who can enjoy a reasonably normal life at the moment. There are children under constant hospital care or that sadly never get to experience life at all.

I would really like to raise some money for The British Heart Foundation so children like me, and especially those less fortunate than me, can benefit from the research the BHF undertake to help everyone with heart conditions.

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives. It's only thanks to support from people like us that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures.

Every pound helps so please give what you can to help me hit my target of £500.

I will be walking 10 miles in West Sussex on 16th February 2025 with my Mum, Dad and older brother. 10 miles is a long way for me and my little legs but I want to push myself to raise as much money as I can.

My family are going to help me set up a route to cover the 10 mile walk which wil be shared closer to the date. we will have a fundraising bucket with us for cash donations on the day.

Thank you all.

James x