On the 24th of July 2021, I will be abseiling down around 100ft at the Custard Factory, a 10-15 minute walk from Birmingham City Centre, I have chosen to support Little Hearts Matter as two people close to me are living their lives with only half a heart, a life-long terminal diagnosis.

Who are Little Hearts Matter: We are in unprecedented and frightening times. Never before has the support, information and care provided by Little Hearts Matter been so urgently needed by the children, teenagers and adults living with only half a working heart. Every day they face the challenges created by their disability. Coronavirus has just added to their isolation, fear, lack of understanding.At a time when their support is needed most, LHM are faced with losing vast amounts of income.Taking part in this challenge will raise funds to help them be there for families.

Little Hearts Matter provides much needed support to the children and teens living life with only half a heart, from diagnosis before birth, to surgeries and through grief.

- CHDs (congenital heart defects) are the most common birth defects

- An approximate 100-200 deaths are due to unrecognized heart disease in newborns each year. These numbers exclude those dying before diagnosis

- CHD's are  twenty-five times more common than cystic fibrosis

- there is no cure for HLHS/HRHS (hypoplastic left/right heart syndrome) they face multiple palliative surgeries and life long medications and hospitalisations  

- HLHS/HRHS are the most severe of CHD's with life expectancies ranging from 14-30 years. Both conditions will require a minimum of three open heart surgeries before the age of 5, the first of which is needed in the first week of life.

- 60x more children die from CHD's than all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet receive far less in funding and heavily lack the much needed awareness.

-  Any mother could find they are carrying a baby with a CHD, as these develop before the mother knows she is pregnant, they have no known cause, and are rarely linked to genetics.

You can learn more about LHM and support them further through their online shop here 

Single Ventricle Heart Condition Charity - Little Hearts Matter (lhm.org.uk)