February is National heart month and we would like to spread awareness for CHD in honour of our beautiful baby boy Rio.

Our son Rio was born at 40 weeks 9 days after an incredibly smooth pregnancy. When he was born our midwife asked for a second opinion when listening to his heartbeat during his newborn check , the doctor detected a slight murmur and tried to reassure us that murmurs can be quite common and to try not to worry.

The doctor made a routine appointment for Rio to have an echocardiogram and ECG when he was 3 weeks old which lead to us being referred to The Freeman Hospital.

On our first visit to The Freeman Hospital we were so anxious but still in denial , Rio seemed so healthy , he had never shown any signs he was unwell and we just couldn’t believe this was happening to us.

We met with Rios consultant who gave us Rio’s diagnosis of Pulmonary Stenosis and explained that surgery would be inevitable. It would just be a case of monitoring Rio weekly with our community Children’s Nurse and on a monthly basis in clinic E. We both spent the whole drive home crying and feeling utterly broken.

In June 2025 , Rio’s consultant chased up his CT scan and decided they would be operating the week after. I can’t even put into words to describe that day , we were devastated and in total shock . It felt like our whole world had came crashing down on us, we had to accept this was really happening.

On the 4th July at just 4 months old , we walked our precious baby boy down to theatre, Rio underwent 4 hours of open heart surgery to repair his special heart. Rio’s surgery was an amazing success❤️

Afterwards he spent 5 days ventilated and sedated in the PICU to allow his little body to adjust to his new circulation. Nothing could have ever prepared us for seeing Rio like that. We sat with him day and night feeling so helpless and heartbroken, yet so in awe of how clever his little body truly is and so desperate for him to wake up. After a couple of little setbacks, he was finally weaned off his sedation and we watched our boy finally open his eyes again.

After 12 long days at The Freeman Hospital we were finally allowed to go home to our girls who we missed so much and our amazing family and friends who we wouldn’t have got through any of this without. You’ve been our absolute lifeline this past year and we appreciate you all so much.

In August we attended Rio’s post op appointment which was great, his consultant said his heart looked better than he could have imagined. At our latest clinic in December, Rios consultant was really happy with his progress and made an appointment to see us in a years time! It was the best feeling ever leaving the hospital with good news and feeling so positive.

Everyone who knows Rio has often told us that you would never believe he has gone through such a traumatic first year of life , he is thriving ,strong, brave and so resilient and to try and put into words just how proud of him we are is impossible.

We are forever grateful for everyone involved in Rio’s heart journey , from our amazing midwife who asked for a second opinion of Rio’s heart murmur , Maria our community nurse, Dr Crossland and his team at Clinic E , all of the amazing staff on Ward 32 and PICU and Rio’s amazing surgeon Dr Louise Kenny and her team at The Freeman Hospital , we owe you our lives.

A time that Rio will thankfully never remember but one that we will never forget ❤️‍

One in 100 babies is born with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

More than 6,000 babies are born with major CHD each year in the UK

In around 53% of cases, the CHD is detected prenatally

Around 1,000 newborns leave UK hospitals each year with undetected CHD

Myself and my partner Hayden have decided to run the Great North Run 10k on 5th July 2026 to mark our son Rio’s 1 year surgery anniversary to raise money for The Sick Children’s trust.

This charity is incredibly close to our hearts as they run Scott House which supports families like us with a sick child being treated in hospital by giving them a welcoming and supportive place to stay just minutes from their seriously ill child’s hospital bedside. It costs £40 per night to support a family, with an overall average of a 15 night stay.

If you’re able to donate, we would be so grateful for any contribution via our JustGiving link. And if donating isn’t possible, simply sharing this post to help raise awareness for CHD would mean the world to us. Every single bit of support, no matter how small, truly helps ❤️