On the 4th of January 2024, our local community came together to raise awareness and funds for Tiny Tickers. Raising an incredible £810 

Vicky at Toddler Sense Barnet held Heal my Heart charity session with all proceeds going to the charity.

Why this charity? Two babies who attend classes have been affected. 

Read Sofia’s story: 

Sofia was born at 36 weeks at a teeny 5lbs1oz. A few days after birth, a nurse detected a heart murmur and arranged for a senior cardiologist to investigate. He confirmed Sofia has a VSD (a birth defect of the heart in which there is a hole in the wall that separates the two lower chambers). Her parents were warned this hole was unlikely to close, but they remained hopeful that it would, or at least it would never cause Sofia any problems and it would be something she could live a normal life with. As Sofia grew, regular scans showed tissue had begun to grow around the hole, which at first felt like a miracle – the hole was slowly closing! However, this later developed into a much bigger issue, and her parents were told that the velocity of blood swooshing through this now smaller hole is causing suction to a very important valve. Open-heart surgery is the only way to solve this progressive issue, and this will need to happen within six months to prevent serious complications and damage to her precious heart. As parents to a beautiful and happy little girl this was truly devastating. Sofia is currently on the waiting list for surgery at Great Ormand Street. There are so many other little hearts waiting to be mended and we want to bring as much love, awareness and funding to Tiny Tickers, a charity that supports families like Sofia’s through very difficult times.

Read Emile’s story: 

Emile was diagnosed with Tetralogy of fallot (TOF) prenatally. It was picked up at our 20-week scan that there was a problem with his heart, and we were referred to Great Ormond Street (GOSH) where he was diagnosed with TOF.

In lots of ways finding out before he was born was a blessing, as we had lots of time to understand what would happen before he was born, and how we would care for him – we were also aware he would need open heart surgery at around 6 months old.

Emile was taken straight to NICU when he was born but was doing amazing and was out of NICU within 24 hours. 

We had teams of community nurses and GOSH nurses that we would see / speak to every week to check on Emile and how his heart was coping, as they have to assess when is right for surgery, finding the balance between the heart being as big as possible to operate on, but also before the baby gets too big and the heart struggles to cope. We were also on the waiting list (along with lots of others) for his surgery date, where they have to assess which, babies are most critical at the point they need surgery.

Emile did amazingly for about 5 months and then we started to notice the changes lots more in him with him starting to struggle with his breathing (what they call Tet spells) we spent a few weeks in and out of hospital, before his surgery was brought forward at GOSH. 

He had open heart surgery in February of this year at 6 months old.

The surgery was successful, and he has had an amazing recovery.

We were advised he would likely spend 3 weeks in hospital post-surgery, but he spent a week in cardiac intensive care at GOSH before being allowed straight home for the rest of his recovery. 

He is now a healthy, happy 1 year old, fully recovered (just with a tough boy scar to tell his tale) and we could not be happier for all the support and amazing medical professionals that have made it possible for our baby to live a completely normal life.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast, and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Tiny Tickers, so it’s the most efficient way to give – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. 

You can donate by clicking here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/toddler-sense-barnet-1700937319465?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Ftoddler-sense-barnet-1700937319465&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=pfp-email 

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Tiny Tickers and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more. 

Thank you so much for your support!