Physical Health United Kingdom Project #9908

Help babies with serious heart conditions

by Tiny Tickers

Help babies with serious heart conditions

Project Report | Dec 22, 2020
Wishing you a safe and healthy Christmas season.

By Katie Lawson | Head of Fundraising & Comms

We'd like to say thank you.

This year has been unexpected and hard for many, including our tiny charity. It wasn't the year we were expecting but we have done our best to continue helping babies born with serious heart conditions, their families, and the frontline NHS workers who look after them.

Congenital heart disease doesn't stop for Coronavirus. And neither have we. 12 babies will still be born today, and every day, with serious heart defects.

As a small charity, nothing we have achieved, or will achieve is possible without our generous supporters. From the organisations who fund our projects, to the virtual marathon runners, Zoom quizzers, banana-bread bakers and Facebook fundraisers who raise vital funds – without your support we simply couldn’t continue our life-saving work.

Thank you for helping us continue our work. And we hope you have a safe and healthy festive season.

Jon, Katie, Aimee, Vicky, Anne & Kym

Team Tiny Tickers

Links:

Find out more about our work

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Nov 30, 2020
Send a hug to a heart family.

By Katie Lawson | Team, Tiny Tickers

Thank you so much for your past support of those facing congenital heart disease.

Today is Giving Tuesday, and we're writing to ask if you would once again consider helping us to support a heart family.

Today, and every day, 12 babies will be born with congenital heart disease (CHD). This Giving Tuesday 12 families will face the dangerous, unrelenting and indiscriminate foe that is congenital heart disease, but now in the added context of a global pandemic.

Imagine going to your 20-week pregnancy scan and finding out your unborn baby has a serious, life-threatening heart condition. Then imagine your baby is born and needs to have surgery within the first few days of life.

Now imagine all of the above, but having to face these challenges alone because of coronavirus restrictions. You have to attend your 20-week scan alone. You receive the devastating news of your baby’s diagnosis without the physical support of your partner or a friend or family member in the room. Then, while your baby is undergoing surgery in hospital, only you can stay with them. Imagine that the nurses and other healthcare professionals can’t give you a hug or even squeeze your hand, because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic.

During the past nine months, around 2,000 women have received a suspected diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) at their 20-week scan, alone. Usually, up to 10 babies have an operation to fix their heart every day. Although the number of planned surgeries has reduced during the pandemic, hundreds of babies will still have had heart surgery during the past nine months, with parents and families separated during hospital stays.

Danielle's first son, Lennox, was born with a serious heart defect, which wasn't diagnosed until he was three days old - and already critically ill. Danielle and her husband Joe watched in horror as doctors fought to save his life. Luckily, they did. Lennox had open heart surgery and is now a happy, energetic two year old.

Two years later, Danielle was overjoyed to find out she was pregnant again. However, she and Joe were absolutely devastated by the news that this baby has a serious heart condition too. She says, “We were obviously so upset and I was just truly gutted. The one thing I had been saying during this pregnancy was that I just couldn’t wait to take my healthy baby home and enjoy all the newborn moments with no anxiety.”

As if their journey hasn't been hard enough, they've had to deal with their baby's diagnosis in the middle of a global pandemic. Danielle was initially given the news at her 20 week-scan, which she had to attend alone, while Joe waited in the car park. The family face a long hospital stay when their baby is born, but with current Covid restrictions, only one parent is currently allowed at their child's bedside at a time.

Families like Danielle and Joe's need our support more than ever.

They need information and advice they can trust and support from a community that knows what they are going through. They need to know someone is there for them during their darkest hours.

Tiny Tickers does all those things and more.

We can make sure parents know they’re not alone - that we and the heart community are always here for them. That’s why we’ve created hug buttons to give parents a virtual hug when they need it. They can take this button with them into hospital and to appointments to remind them that they’re not alone. It can be given to siblings, placed under pillows, or kept in pockets.

A £10 donation, will provide one family with a virtual hug. Your donation will enable us to send one of our family support packs to a heart family, along with a hug button. And when you make your donation, you can also leave a message of support for that family.

Please help us to continue being there for them.

This Giving Tuesday, your £10 donation will help us send a support pack to a family who has just received the life-changing news that their baby has a serious heart condition. This package includes all the information they need about what they face, access to our supportive communities of heart parents and a hug button - so they can receive a virtual hug whenever they need it.

Nothing beats the power of a hug. Please help us send a virtual hug to a heart family today.

With warmest wishes,
Team Tiny Tickers

Links:

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Nov 20, 2020
Will you join the fun in 2021?

By Katie, Vicky, Aimee, Anne, Jon & Kym | Team Tiny Tickers

Tiny Tickers is now on a slightly different path to the one we were expecting as 2020 – our 20th anniversary year – rang in. Although the UK is currently facing a huge public health emergency, a baby is born with a serious heart condition every 2 hours. That fact remains. We are here to help but only with your support.

From 8 February to 14 February 2021 we'd love if you would join us in celebrating heart heroes everywhere by fundraising and raising awareness as part of Heart Week 2021.

Though we don't know what the world will look like in February, we know that it's never been more important to help babies affected by congenital heart disease.

Click here to sign up for a free Heart Week toolkit

How can you get involved?

From tea parties to dress down days, baby cinema and yoga classes, to sponsored silences and office activities, we’ve had it all. Even walking across the Forth Bridge on the coldest day of the year and taking a leap of faith with a Heart Week skydive!

Whether you raise a little or a lot, Heart Week is the chance for you to use your imagination and come together with friends, family, colleagues and the community to show your support for Heart Heroes everywhere. Dress down days may be so last year, but there are lots of virtual tips on our website here.

When you sign up to take part you'll receive a free Heart Week toolkit full to the brim with ideas, advice and resources to help you have fun whilst fundraising!

Covid safety

We don’t know what the world will be like in February so some of your ideas might have to look a little different from previous years. Above all else please follow government guidelines when making your plan.

Thank you for helping us ensure that every baby born with a heart defect has a fighting chance

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