100 mile walk for Heart Heroes

Matt, Elliot and Gavin are walking 100 miles across three days to raise money for a defibrillator that can be used by the Heart Heroes charity to support families in their Cornwall Hub.

In the UK there are 13 babies diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) every day (approximately 1 in 150 births). In November 2020 Gavin's son, Louis, was born with half a heart. Initially it was thought that he would not survive and at this difficult time, they became aware of the Heart Heroes charity which supports families and their children born with a heart defect. This support includes helping join together different heart families to help them deal with and talk through the challenges that having a child with a heart condition can bring and the new medical world they find themselves in. Louis has had three open heart surgeries but his future and life expectancy remain uncertain and this connection with people in a similar situation is vital.

One of the other ways the charity can help heart families is by having a mobile defibrillator that would be made accessible to people attending one of their regular meetings and events in Cornwall or a family could possibly take it with them if they were travelling a long distance away from home and were worried about how to get support if a medical situation was to happen.

Our challenging 100-mile walk takes us from Winchester, heading east through hills, valleys, woods and coastal paths before we arrive in Eastbourne. We will walk for at least 13 hours a day, starting at sunrise and finishing in the dark (whilst also trying to eat, drink, avoid blisters and be prepared for whatever the weather throws at us!). We are training every week to ensure we are ready for a challenging three days fitting this in and around full-time jobs and families.

Any sponsorship would be greatly appreciated and if you want to find out about more of the great work Heart Heroes do, you can visit their website https://heartheroes.co.uk