Posted in Patients

Thank you so much to our friend Jasmine who decided to do a little good these school holidays and set up a bake sale outside her house to raise money for the Heart Centre for Children.  Jasmine and her grandmother baked all day to have a table full of goodies for people to choose from, and then Jasmine and her friends Amelie, Astrid, Chloe, Georgia and Violet sold the cookies and cakes, raising a fantastic $83.50 for us.  The money will be put towards purchasing a Heart-Lung Machine, to help us to perform life-saving surgery on babies and children just like Jasmine, who was born with a heart condition. What an amazing young lady!  Thank you Jasmine!! Click here to find out How You Can Help too. ...

William was born with a rare form of congenital heart disease involving a complex single ventricle.  After undergoing several surgeries to give him a special Fontan circulation, William finally had the energy to run around like other children his age.  Celebrating his first soccer game last week was a dream come true for William and his family, and a delight for the Heart Centre for Children staff to see, thanks to these photos from William's Mum, Lisa.  To find out more about a range of heart conditions, click here. To help us to help more children like William, go to our How You Can Help page. ...

Thank you to the wonderful family for the recognition of the work our staff do at The Children’s Hospital in a feedback box submission recently. 

The feedback reads:

“All the nurses were exceptionally friendly, helpful and supportive.  There was definitely the "care" factor which made all the difference and a positive experience. 

THANK YOU to all the doctors, specialists and nurses for everything they have done for my child who means the world to me.  Thank you and wishing you all the best.”

A big thank you to Monty and Edie who were recently decked out in specially-made Heart Centre for Children t-shirts, supporting their Mum Catriona as she did her first ever triathlon (which raised a big chunk of money towards our new echo machines).  Here's a photo that was just sent through of the cuties in their great outfits.

Daniel, one of our heart transplant patients (whose story is available here) wrote to us to let us know that he got his P plates recently - and then sent us this great snapshot.  Congratulations, Daniel!  Drive safe.

William was just 38 hours old when he underwent his first heart surgery.  In his short life he has undergone three heart surgeries at the Heart Centre for Children – culminating in the Fontan procedure which he had last year. Now, at six years of age, his mother Lisa Chamberlin says he is a completely different child, who is active and loves to run around with his brother. William is one of over 900 children and adults who are taking part in the largest heart study of its kind in the world, the Fontan Registry and who, this month is hoping to raise awareness of the registry during a campaign called ‘Fontan for Life’ which aims to raise $200,000 for the registry. The Fontan procedure is a lifesaving medical technique used to treat children born with certain serious heart defects. The procedure involves restructuring the heart so that it can operate effectively using only one ventricle, or pumping chamber, as opposed to two. The Fontan procedure is relative...

Little Monty and his family visited us today for the 2UE Radiothon which is raising much-needed funds for The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

The interview with his Mum Catriona can be found here.

Thank you Monty and co for brightening our day!!

Diagnosed with SVT two years ago, Paris has had quite a journey to get to where she is today - a healthy, SVT-free young lady.  And a courageous and well-spoken one to boot.  Paris spoke to an audience of 196 guests at the Echo Gala Dinner in September, where she was the belle of the ball and highlight of the night.  Read her speech (her story) here.

One of our patients and A/Prof David Winlaw, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, were in an article in The Australian over the weekend regarding Australia's high levels of support for organ donation but low numbers of donations being made.  Read the full article here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/

Not everyone celebrates their 13th birthday with the Parramatta Eels and a few Channel 7 cameras, but Corey Lake is not just anyone.  He's a brave young man who has been through a lot, including a heart transplant when he was just four years old and fighting off non-Hodgkins lymphoma a few years later.  Corey is back in hospital with us at the moment but can also be found on 7 News and in the Daily Telegraph!  Read more about his story here.