Dolcie's CHD Charity Fund
Donation protected
A congenital heart defect (CHD), is a problem in the structure of the heart from birth.
My niece, Dolcie, is a heart warrior and suffers from a CHD. There is no cure for her heart defect, only ongoing treatment, which means a lifetime of open heart surgeries for this brave little girl.
Dolcie has a Unicuspid Aortic Valve which is a very rare congenital anomaly. The aortic valve controls the flow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body by pumping through three cusps/leaflets. Dolcie's valve is only formed of one cusp and therefore this causes significant and damaging pressure on her little heart which is why she is in heart failure.
Her heart defect is causing her to suffer with a condition called Aortic Stenosis. This is where the valve has become incredibly narrow, meaning that the opening of the valve becomes smaller, obstructing the flow of blood out of the heart. Dolcie also suffers with aortic regurgitation – which means her valve is leaking- the valve allows blood to flow back through into the heart so instead of it pumping out of the heart, some blood pumps backwards back into the heart which is very damaging.
In March 2017, at just 7 months old, Dolcie's heart failure was deemed critical so she underwent her first open heart surgery. Surgeons carried out an Aortic Valve Repair where they attempted to create three cusps out of the one cusp in her vavle to try to release some of the pressure on her heart. Unfortunately, this procedure is only likely to last a few years before Dolcie will need further surgery.
Ultimately, the repair surgery is buying time until Dolcie's heart is larger and strong enough to cope with a full aortic valve replacement. The replacement is a substantial operation which involves removing the defective valve altogether and replacing it with a new one made from animal tissue, typically a pigs heart. Dolcie will then have replacement valve surgeries for the rest of her life.
These are incredibly major surgeries for anyone, especially a baby, which involve stopping her heart and putting her on a heart and lung bypass machine. Open heart surgery is incredibly risky and dangerous, procedures can take all day and there is a long recovery period in intensive care and the high dependency units.
We are trying to raise much money as possible for the charities set up for the Children's Heart Ward and Intensive Care Unit at Southampton Hospital in Hampshire, who provide life saving support for heart warriors like Dolcie and many more poorly heart babies and children. We want to give something back to say thank you for saving Dolcie's life and for all the future care and surgeries they will undertake for Dolcie during her lifetime.
Please get behind this incredible cause by donating whatever you can and please support or share to help us raise CHD awareness!
We are also organising a Charity Gala for November 2018 which will be a Black Tie Dinner Dance event in Sandbanks, Dorset. If you would like to attend or are interested in making a donation for a prize for the event, please get in touch.
CHD Facts:
1 in every 111 babies born in the UK has a heart defect.
3600 babies under one year old had heart surgery in the UK last year.
1000 newborns leave hospitals in the UK every year with an undetected heart condition. 1 in 10 of these babies will die.
Thank you
My niece, Dolcie, is a heart warrior and suffers from a CHD. There is no cure for her heart defect, only ongoing treatment, which means a lifetime of open heart surgeries for this brave little girl.
Dolcie has a Unicuspid Aortic Valve which is a very rare congenital anomaly. The aortic valve controls the flow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body by pumping through three cusps/leaflets. Dolcie's valve is only formed of one cusp and therefore this causes significant and damaging pressure on her little heart which is why she is in heart failure.
Her heart defect is causing her to suffer with a condition called Aortic Stenosis. This is where the valve has become incredibly narrow, meaning that the opening of the valve becomes smaller, obstructing the flow of blood out of the heart. Dolcie also suffers with aortic regurgitation – which means her valve is leaking- the valve allows blood to flow back through into the heart so instead of it pumping out of the heart, some blood pumps backwards back into the heart which is very damaging.
In March 2017, at just 7 months old, Dolcie's heart failure was deemed critical so she underwent her first open heart surgery. Surgeons carried out an Aortic Valve Repair where they attempted to create three cusps out of the one cusp in her vavle to try to release some of the pressure on her heart. Unfortunately, this procedure is only likely to last a few years before Dolcie will need further surgery.
Ultimately, the repair surgery is buying time until Dolcie's heart is larger and strong enough to cope with a full aortic valve replacement. The replacement is a substantial operation which involves removing the defective valve altogether and replacing it with a new one made from animal tissue, typically a pigs heart. Dolcie will then have replacement valve surgeries for the rest of her life.
These are incredibly major surgeries for anyone, especially a baby, which involve stopping her heart and putting her on a heart and lung bypass machine. Open heart surgery is incredibly risky and dangerous, procedures can take all day and there is a long recovery period in intensive care and the high dependency units.
We are trying to raise much money as possible for the charities set up for the Children's Heart Ward and Intensive Care Unit at Southampton Hospital in Hampshire, who provide life saving support for heart warriors like Dolcie and many more poorly heart babies and children. We want to give something back to say thank you for saving Dolcie's life and for all the future care and surgeries they will undertake for Dolcie during her lifetime.
Please get behind this incredible cause by donating whatever you can and please support or share to help us raise CHD awareness!
We are also organising a Charity Gala for November 2018 which will be a Black Tie Dinner Dance event in Sandbanks, Dorset. If you would like to attend or are interested in making a donation for a prize for the event, please get in touch.
CHD Facts:
1 in every 111 babies born in the UK has a heart defect.
3600 babies under one year old had heart surgery in the UK last year.
1000 newborns leave hospitals in the UK every year with an undetected heart condition. 1 in 10 of these babies will die.
Thank you
Organiser and beneficiary
Mason Doick
Organiser
Holly Doick
Beneficiary
