Back in may 2005 i gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who at the time we thought was healthy , 24 hours later our lives changed forever we were told our daughter had severe congenital heart disease and was rushed to Glenfield Hospital where her diagnosis was made.

We were then told 3 weeks later she also had a genetic condition called 22q11.2deletion as you can imagine i was a total mess but had to be strong for everyone's sake . 

From that point on I always remember feeling isolated at the normal parent and toddler groups as my little one wasn't well and although support from professionals were second to none.

I always felt the need to smile and say my daughter was fine as no one would understand how i was feeling .

At a time when CHD affects around 1 in every 100 births having your child diagnosed can be an extremely distressing ,confusing and worrying time and families often look for someone who can help in any way be that talking to others or finding information to help them along the way , as many of our children face an uncertain future alongside trying to live our day to day lives .

After 6  years of major ups and downs with our daughter and many more to come i felt i was in a position ,i wanted to give something back to others in the community in the way of a support group for families of children with Heart conditions ,its been a long journey and a pretty lonely place to start with before i found a small network of families ,to which i must say have been amazing alongside close friends and family .

I also found that as a parent of a child with congenital heart disease (CHD) there were no local support groups in our surrounding area ,although there were many websites and groups that provided information and online support it wasn't quite the same as speaking to someone face to face ,who had been through similar experiences its the simple human touch that made it feel much easier to talk and to know those you spoke to would have been through a similar experience .

After speaking to the certain organisations  they confirmed that the feedback from our area and surrounding areas  were that families would welcome local support groups as many families felt isolated and unsupported on an emotional level and that some families lacked information and resources about their child's diagnosis and areas associated with it ,especially where families didn't have immediate access to the internet .

Our main aim is to ensure local families who have children with heart conditions feel they are not alone and that they are welcome to come along for a chat and meet other families who share a common ground ,along with making sure they are able to access information and resources about their child's condition and make them aware of the help and support that is available to them . 

Along the way we have found that Not one charity alone has been able to provide everything we needed support wise ,so we are happy to signpost families to the areas best suited to each individual family ,to ensure they get the best support possible .

Hopefully by providing the community groups as well as the online and phone support we can help to stop families from feeling alone and isolated .

PATCHES Was launched in January 2011 and is growing by the day to support families & children with Congenital Heart Defects 

HOPE for us all ! (August 2023)

Our daughter is now 18 years old and after 5 open heart surgeries ,countless cardiac catheters plus other surgeries related to her genetic condition 22q11.2deletion ,she is still here and is as beautiful as ever she is my little miracle

So i have to say a huge thankyou to my little lady and my amazing dedicated admin team for support who have kept Patches going since 2011 to the present day !

Thankyou x