Once a heart kid, always a heart kid

When we think about heart disease, most of us will automatically think of older people having heart attacks out of the blue.

But heart disease doesn’t just impact the elderly, if fact it doesn’t just impact adults. You might be surprised to know that one in eight children born in Australia are diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD) at birth.

Even worse, four young lives are lost every week to CHD. And tragically, CHD is actually the biggest killer of children aged less than one year old.

Sadly, there is no known cure for congenital heart disease.

Once a heart kid, always a heart kid.

That’s the way HeartKids Foundation sums it up.

So, who is HeartKids? We’re glad you asked.

HeartKids provides life-long support for those with congenital heart disease and their families.

HeartKids is the only Not For Profit Charity in Australia that focus is solely on congenital heart disease. Although they’ve been around for approximately 40 years, if you haven’t needed them for yourself or your family, chances are, you probably haven’t heard too much about them.

HeartKids does not have the high profile platform like a lot of other not-for-profit charities, however the work they do makes a lasting impression on the families they’re involved with.

That’s because approximately half of the children diagnosed with CHD require surgery to correct it.

Thanks to medical advances, there are more than 66,000 Australian adults living with congenital or acquired heart disease since childhood. These former ‘HeartKids’ are now living healthy and productive lives.

These types of medical advances wouldn’t be possible without charities like HeartKids. As well as practical support. The charity also offers emotional support to families during the most traumatic time of their lives.

We can’t think of a better charity to support, so for the entire month of February, the Spoonie Society will donate a dollar from every sale to HeartKids.

Charities like HeartKids rely on fundraising and donations to be able to provide the amazing service they provide to children with CHD – a condition that remains with them for life.

If you’d like to offer your support, there are plenty of ways to do so. Head to www.heartkids.org.au to find out more.