Our beautiful daughter Jessica was born in September 2011 with a severe heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This was diagnosed at her 20 week scan and we were initially told that she was unlikely to be suitable for surgery. However, a pioneering in-utero operation at 28 weeks to enlarge a hole in her atrial septum was carried out and she was able to make it to term and get through her first open-heart surgery at just eight hours old. Jessica underwent five more surgeries during her life. Her final surgery - the Fontan procedure - took place in December 2017. She initially made a good recovery but sadly passed away suddenly on 14th April 2018 at the age of 6. This is the story of a little girl whose half a heart overflowed with love. She was, and will forever be, our little miracle and brought joy to all who knew her.

Monday, 23 December 2013

Concerts and counting down to Christmas



We have had a very busy couple of weeks in the run-up to Christmas – attending Christmas parties, meeting up with family and taking part in a fundraising concert in aid of Friends of PICU.  The concert on 14th December was on the second anniversary of Jessica’s Norwood procedure and it was wonderful to see Jessica having a little dance on the stage during the final number and reflect on how far she has come.  This time two years ago, Jessica was in intensive care and about to spend her first Christmas in hospital and now she is a very active and happy little girl, enjoying being a big sister and bringing so much joy into our lives.  Thank you to everyone who attended the concert and helped us to raise £400 for Friends of PICU.  It was particularly lovely to be able to catch up with one of the other heart families who we got to know during one of Jessica’s stays on Ocean Ward at the concert as well.  


We saw a few more heart families from Ocean Ward the following day when we attended the Families of Ocean Ward Christmas party.  Jessica really enjoyed herself at the party, particularly the bouncy castle and the soft play area.  She wasn’t too sure about meeting Father Christmas although the present met with full approval!  


We have been catching up with friends and family in the run-up to Christmas – Jessica’s cousins Clare, Seren and Siân were visiting from Luxembourg and it was lovely to see the girls together again having not seen them for over a year.  We also had another visit to see Nanny and Jessica got to catch up with her aunties, uncles and cousins.  Unfortunately, whilst at Nanny’s, Jessica fell over and caught her face on a chair resulting in a black eye – poor little love.  It is starting to look much better now thankfully.


Dr Archer has now confirmed that the plan for the new year is for Jessica to have another cardiac catheter investigation to look at her lung arteries – we do not have a date yet for this but will keep you updated.



In the meantime, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and peace and blessings for the year ahead.
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