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"Though she may be little, she is fierce"
-Shakespeare
We are friends of Brooke and Ash's Mummy and Daddy and looking to help this beautiful family as times have been awfully tough since the arrival of their gorgeous miracle twins. Unfortunately life hasn't been a dream for them.
David has lost his company and been unable to work looking after Ash while Brooke and Rachael are in and out of the hospital. The bills keep coming in and they can't seem to catch a break.
This family are struggling and they need our help!
PLEASE PLEASE dig deep to enable them to share as many special times together as they can with their courageous lil Heart Kid Brooke, before they have to say their goodbyes - without the worry of money hanging over their heads!
This family should not have to go through this alone. They shouldn't have to go through this at all!
Please read Rachael's story...
Finding out that I was to be a mother was one of the happiest moments of my life. To then find out that it was to be to twin girls was both joyous and frightening.
We were having monochorionic monoamniotic twins, (rarest form - same sac same placenta) which including myself most people had never even heard before. The first thing I did was consult in Google which is the worst thing to do as all it seems to tell you is how many risks there are and a low survival rate.
The joy turned to heartache quickly when we found out that our twin girls had heart conditions. Congenital Heart Disease affects 1 in 100 babies and most will require surgery to correct their condition.
Our cardiologist then informed us that one of our beautiful unborn babies was not expected to survive birth – her heart condition was that complex. As an expectant mother being told to plan your babies funeral before you have even had the chance to officially meet her was heartbreaking. We prepared ourselves as much as one can in this situation – and the day arrived that we would meet both of our beautiful babies.
Both babies were born with heart conditions. Ashley was taken from us in the delivery room and taken to NICU – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for those who have not experienced it. The doctors gave us Brooke, and we held her and were saying our good byes even though we had just met. Time passed, and Brooke fought hard. She surprised everyone there that day – and stayed with us. We sought second opinions, going to the best cardiologists in Australia. Sadly the news given to us was that Brooke’s heart conditions were just too many and too complex. There was nothing they could do for our baby girl.
Ashley spent two weeks in NICU, and was returned to us when she could manage to breathe and feed on her own. She has several holes in her heart, but is developing as a normal child would.
It was 10 months ago that they told us to say our goodbyes to our girl, and she is still with us today. Though we know that the time draws nearer to when she will grow her wings and leave us behind. Brooke will be my most beautiful angel.
Brooke’s condition is inoperable, and untreatable. There is nothing we can do for her but make her time with us the most meaningful it can be. She is on palliative care and we do everything we can to make her life as normal as it can be. We can also continue to raise the awareness of a condition that affects thousands of Australian families every year.
Listed below is a summary of the various conditions that are affecting Brooke:
· Dextrocardia (heart on the right)
· AVSD (holes in the heart)
· Trivial AV regurgitation (leaky valve)
· High Secundem ASD (large hole in the top wall of the heart between the left and right sides)
· Transposition of the great arteries
· Pulmonary atresia (absence of the blood vessel taking blood to the lungs)
· MAPCAS (pretend vessels being the only source of blood flow)
· Right atrial isomerism
· TAPVR (veins returning from heart to lungs)
· Asplenia (no Spleen). This leaves her vulnerable to infections, as she is unable to fight them properly. This compounds the stress on her heart.
Thank you so much for reading this heartbreaking story - if it has touched you like it has us please give generously.
Yours faithfully.
Ash & Brookes friends xoxo
You can follow Brooke's journey on facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/Brookesheart?ref=ts&fref=ts
-Shakespeare
We are friends of Brooke and Ash's Mummy and Daddy and looking to help this beautiful family as times have been awfully tough since the arrival of their gorgeous miracle twins. Unfortunately life hasn't been a dream for them.
David has lost his company and been unable to work looking after Ash while Brooke and Rachael are in and out of the hospital. The bills keep coming in and they can't seem to catch a break.
This family are struggling and they need our help!
PLEASE PLEASE dig deep to enable them to share as many special times together as they can with their courageous lil Heart Kid Brooke, before they have to say their goodbyes - without the worry of money hanging over their heads!
This family should not have to go through this alone. They shouldn't have to go through this at all!
Please read Rachael's story...
Finding out that I was to be a mother was one of the happiest moments of my life. To then find out that it was to be to twin girls was both joyous and frightening.
We were having monochorionic monoamniotic twins, (rarest form - same sac same placenta) which including myself most people had never even heard before. The first thing I did was consult in Google which is the worst thing to do as all it seems to tell you is how many risks there are and a low survival rate.
The joy turned to heartache quickly when we found out that our twin girls had heart conditions. Congenital Heart Disease affects 1 in 100 babies and most will require surgery to correct their condition.
Our cardiologist then informed us that one of our beautiful unborn babies was not expected to survive birth – her heart condition was that complex. As an expectant mother being told to plan your babies funeral before you have even had the chance to officially meet her was heartbreaking. We prepared ourselves as much as one can in this situation – and the day arrived that we would meet both of our beautiful babies.
Both babies were born with heart conditions. Ashley was taken from us in the delivery room and taken to NICU – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for those who have not experienced it. The doctors gave us Brooke, and we held her and were saying our good byes even though we had just met. Time passed, and Brooke fought hard. She surprised everyone there that day – and stayed with us. We sought second opinions, going to the best cardiologists in Australia. Sadly the news given to us was that Brooke’s heart conditions were just too many and too complex. There was nothing they could do for our baby girl.
Ashley spent two weeks in NICU, and was returned to us when she could manage to breathe and feed on her own. She has several holes in her heart, but is developing as a normal child would.
It was 10 months ago that they told us to say our goodbyes to our girl, and she is still with us today. Though we know that the time draws nearer to when she will grow her wings and leave us behind. Brooke will be my most beautiful angel.
Brooke’s condition is inoperable, and untreatable. There is nothing we can do for her but make her time with us the most meaningful it can be. She is on palliative care and we do everything we can to make her life as normal as it can be. We can also continue to raise the awareness of a condition that affects thousands of Australian families every year.
Listed below is a summary of the various conditions that are affecting Brooke:
· Dextrocardia (heart on the right)
· AVSD (holes in the heart)
· Trivial AV regurgitation (leaky valve)
· High Secundem ASD (large hole in the top wall of the heart between the left and right sides)
· Transposition of the great arteries
· Pulmonary atresia (absence of the blood vessel taking blood to the lungs)
· MAPCAS (pretend vessels being the only source of blood flow)
· Right atrial isomerism
· TAPVR (veins returning from heart to lungs)
· Asplenia (no Spleen). This leaves her vulnerable to infections, as she is unable to fight them properly. This compounds the stress on her heart.
Thank you so much for reading this heartbreaking story - if it has touched you like it has us please give generously.
Yours faithfully.
Ash & Brookes friends xoxo
You can follow Brooke's journey on facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/Brookesheart?ref=ts&fref=ts