Lifelong battle that Townsville HeartKids are facing
Townsville children and their families affected by congenital heart defects dressed as superheroes and went on a sailing adventure together at sunset.
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Townsville children and their families affected by congenital heart defects dressed as superheroes and went on a sailing adventure together at sunset.
Spider-Men, Wonder Women and even pirates debarked on two boats Big Mama and Samarai from the Breakwater Marina as part of a HeartKids fundraising campaign supported by local businesses, while these families were also able to create happy memories together.
Attending mother Ayesha Horsington said there were more than 230 families in the communities supported by HeartKids, which she said did not receive a huge amount of funding.
Events such as the sailing adventure created awareness but also allowed affected families to connect with each other, including those who had lost
Ms Horsington said her family faced a tough choice when their 13-year-old daughter Clancy was born with hypoblastic left heart syndrome, which “essentially means half a heart”.
“We were given options of travelling to Melbourne for a series of three open heart surgeries or to let her pass away at birth, which is known as compassionate care.
“We very quickly had to make this decision and we chose the unknown path of going to Melbourne and we were given some very frightening statistics.
“We owe a lot to HeartKids who supported us on this journey.”
Townsville Hospital’s pediatric and fetal cardiologist Rosh Samuel said around 1000 children in the Townsville area were affected by congenital heart defects, which was a “lifelong journey” for themselves and their families.
“A lot of people don’t realise it’s probably one of the most common heart conditions kids can have,” Dr Samuel said.
“Probably about one per cent of all kids are born with a heart issue so it’s much more common than people think.”
These affected children often needed surgery soon after birth, so medical staff try to diagnose the issue during pregnancy so they can be delivered in Brisbane.
“That’s one of the most rewarding things is the huge number of HeartKids do really well after surgery,” he said.
Breakwater Marina general manager Scott Marshall said it decided to support the cause and then realised after seeking business sponsorship that it was a “highly emotive story”.
Mr Marshall hoped the superhero sunset cruise could grow even further and become an annual event.
“This particular charity links through the community in a fairly big way, there’s obviously a lot more people that are affected by this than what we even knew.”
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Originally published as Lifelong battle that Townsville HeartKids are facing
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