Helen Spence, a Senior Accounts Assistant at our Stafford office, was delighted when Little Hearts Matter was nominated as one of the chosen charities for our ‘Big 25’ challenge. She will be supporting her colleagues as they take on an ambitious 94-mile leg of the firms’ Big 25 Challenge to raise vital funds for a charity which supports young people and their families living with the diagnosis.
Her grandson, Thomas was born with half a working heart. Thomas, a cheerful and resilient nine-year-old, lives with a complex congenital heart defect. Since birth, he has undergone multiple major surgeries, including a stent procedure at just one month old and Kawashima open heart surgery at 16-months-old.
He was also born with reversed abdominal organs and multiple spleens and is currently awaiting a decision on whether he will need the Fontan procedure at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Throughout his life, Thomas and his parents, Rachel and Martin, along with their wider family have received unwavering support from Little Hearts Matter, a UK-wide charity that helps children born with a single ventricle heart condition (SVHC), and their families, to navigate the challenges of this life-limiting diagnosis.
Each year, up to 500 families in the UK receive the devastating news that their baby has half a working heart. This condition requires complex surgeries, lifelong treatment, and presents physical, emotional, and social challenges.
Colleagues from our Stafford office, based at Staffordshire Technology Park, set off on Friday, July 11 will be kayaking and walking before arriving on cycles at our Liverpool office via Chester Zoo on Wednesday, July 16.
Helen said Thomas is a happy, wonderful boy who loves swimming, horse riding and playing football.
She said: “My daughter, Rachel, found out at her 12-week scan that there were problems, but they wouldn’t know the extent until their son was born. Rachel had Thomas delivered at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham rather than at their nearest hospital in Stafford so that he could be taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital, so it is fantastic that colleagues from our Birmingham office have chosen to support the hospital in their fundraising.
“Thomas gets very tired and has a wheelchair now when I pick him up every night from school because he can’t manage to walk home. Sometimes he gets nervous, and he has counselling from Dougie Mac Hospice in Stoke every two weeks when a lovely lady comes to school to talk to him because he gets worried about the procedures he has to have at hospital.
“The support Thomas and his family have had from Little Hearts Matter has been fantastic. He takes part in online chats so that he knows he is not the only child with this. The charity has provided literature which is written in layman's terms to help us all understand the medical terminology, and this has also been given to Thomas’s teachers to help them understand his condition and the symptoms he experiences.
“They also provided letters of support to a tribunal to overturn the original decision not to award any Disability Allowance for Thomas to buy his wheelchair and technology devices to distract him while he is in hospital.”
Consultant Partner, Charles Meynell, said: “Little Hearts Matter was chosen as our charity for its incredible work and direct support to Thomas and his family. This challenge has united the office, with everyone involved in planning, fundraising, and cheering us on as we set off in a soapbox. The support from friends, family, and clients has been phenomenal, exemplifying the spirit of One FG.”
Lisa Davies, CEO of Little Hearts Matter, said the funds generated from Big 25 would contribute to the service the charity offers 365 days a year. She said: “We’re so proud to be one of the charities chosen by Fisher German as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. It’s such a meaningful way to mark this milestone, and we’re incredibly grateful to be included. The Big 25 Challenge is a brilliant idea. Fisher German’s support means so much to the families we work with at Little Hearts Matter.”
Anyone wishing to donate should visit our GiveWheel page.