Hi. My name’s Kirsty. I am raising funds for my sister and her family as they are going through one of the most difficult times of their life.

Their daughter, Ruby, was born on 10th September with Down syndrome, they later realised she had a coarctation of the aorta, which she went through surgery for at only 9 days old. Less than 12 hours later she needed her chest reopened due to her heart swelling up and causing too much pressure. This was closed a few days later.

At only 13 days old, Ruby went back into theatre for Pulmonary bands to try to postpone the surgery needed to fix her AVSD until she is a bit bigger and able to handle the surgery. Since this operation the doctors have struggled to get Ruby off the ventilator due to too much fluid in her body and still having a complete AVSD.

My sister and her husband have 4 other children, 43 miles away at home, which they’ve had to keep travelling back and forth from to keep them in school and not disrupt their routine too much. With my brother-in-law having to either be at the hospital, or with their other children, this has meant he hasn’t been able to get back to work, which means he has been put on Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP), he is only getting the amount in a week that he would usually earn within a day and a half at work.

My sister is not one to ask for help, especially from the community, but after careful consideration and many people suggesting a GoFundMe, she has given me permission to start this up on their behalf as long as I say, we are not creating this to push people into feeling the need to help, it is here if people would like to help.

Thank you for reading their story and we appreciate any help you can give during this unexpected, very difficult time.