Fancy riding on top of the world looking down on traffic?  New Zealand’s biggest bike measuring 2.2m in height is the perfect creation to tickle your fancy. This gigantic beauty will be auctioned off on Trade Me to raise money for @Heart, the charity that supports the 12 babies born with a heart condition every week in New Zealand.

All Blacks legend Tana Umaga joins kids’ battle with congenital heart disease

In New Zealand, a fighter is born, on average, every 14 hours.  These are the 12 babies born with a heart defect every week, often receiving their first battle scar from open heart surgery in the first few days of their lives.
These kids show tremendous strength, fighting spirit and resilience, much like All Blacks legend Tana Umaga has shown throughout his rugby career.

    

The call is out for Aucklanders to plunge into an icy pool for five minutes at the upcoming Heart Stopper Challenge event to be held in Auckland on 18th May 2012.  This act of courage by participants will help to raise much needed awareness and funds for the 12 Kiwi kids born every week with a congenital heart condition.

Melanie and John Walsh are two of the many brave souls who have signed up for this unique and fun challenge to support @Heart, the charity that has been helping them since their son was diagnosed with Ebstein’s Anomaly. Ebstein’s Anomaly is an extremely rare heart condition where the tricuspid valves are not formed properly causing malfunctioning of the heart.  Five-year-old Patrick is often ill with infections. Trips to hospital have become routine and the High Use Health Card has become a badge of honour for little Patrick.  

The Walsh family knows first-hand how vital it is to receive support from someone who understands and can offer practical help.  Melanie said, “Our world was turned upside down when we found out about Patrick’s heart condition.  We felt completely alone until we were connected with @Heart.  They supported us in many different ways and they made Patrick feel special by engaging him in fun activities with other heart kids.”

Lorraine Warshaw, General Manager of @Heart explains that the inspiration behind the Heart Stopper Challenge is the 450 open heart surgeries performed annually on children in New Zealand. During the open heart surgery a child’s chest cavity can be filled with an icy slush to slow the heart rate and metabolism, giving the surgeon a longer window of operating time.

The Heart Stopper Challenge sees teams of up to six people plunge into an icy pool for five minutes. These teams, dressed in costume for their plunge, not only demonstrate bravery and camaraderie but in the process have lots of fun. The Auckland Heart Stopper Challenge event will take place from 3pm on Friday 18th May at Takutai Square, Britomart. Our thanks go to Les Mills and More FM for their wonderful organisational support for the Auckland event. 

“Les Mills has been passionately supporting @Heart, we want to do more in the community to help get people active, and we see this as a good way to look after those who - through no fault of their own – need support so they can better cope with the challenges of their heart conditions” Jackie Marshall, Les Mills Club Manager, Les Mills Auckland.

MORE FM Auckland realises the dramatic effects open heart surgeries have on young Kiwis and their families and aims to do everything in its power to help @Heart by communicating key messages to their listeners and the public.

MORE FM'S Programme Director, Ande Macpherson said, "By promoting the Heart Stopper Challenge, MORE FM has a unique opportunity to promote the event, making our listeners more aware of the huge need for their support and also encouraging others to participate in the Challenge by taking part ourselves!"

There is no entry fee to take the plunge, but each team member is encouraged to raise at least $100 to support the work of @Heart.  Funds raised from the Auckland Heart Stopper Challenge event are used to support heart children and their families staying on the National Paediatric Cardiac Ward in Auckland and at home, through @Heart’s Family Support Programme.

Register a team or sponsor a plunger for the Auckland Heart Stopper Challenge on this website: http://www.heartstopper.org.nz/event/heartstopperauckland2012. 

In spite of the chilly challenge, participants feel warm inside knowing that their act of courage will make a difference to the lives of heart kids and families in New Zealand.

– end –

Like many school children of her age, Caitlin Simpson, 8, from Taupo loves to participate in physical activities and regular kid adventures like rope climbing and kayaking.  However, such adventures in life can sometimes seem a little out of reach for Caitlin.  She was never allowed to attend school camp because of her heart condition.

Caitlin would tell her friends that she had a ‘broken heart’.  She was diagnosed with a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) when she was just two.  At the time, the condition did not affect her and she seemed a normal child, with no symptoms of her condition showing at all.

The reality hit when a routine echocardiogram at age five revealed Caitlin’s condition was more serious than first diagnosed.  She was born with ALCAPA (Anomalous Left Coronary Artery off the Pulmonary Artery), a condition where the left coronary artery is attached to the pulmonary artery instead of the aorta.

This news was really hard for Caitlin’s mum Trudy to accept.  To now know that her healthy child actually had a serious heart condition and needed corrective surgery to save her life was difficult to grasp.

In October 2008, Caitlin underwent surgery at Starship Children’s Hospital to correct her condition.  Trudy said, “This was to be the longest 8 ½ hours of our lives.  Nothing can prepare you for any of this - seeing your little girl hooked up to all those machines in PICU.”

Thankfully, the surgery was successful and Caitlin recovered quickly from it.

“The medical team was amazing giving Caitlin a new lease of life.  The family support workers @Heart have also provided us tremendous practical and emotional support during the whole process. They are just a phone call away and are always there for us,” said Trudy.

Last year, Caitlin returned to Starship to undergo another procedure as she had been showing signs of fatigue during sport.  While the results came back with nothing untoward at this stage, it serves as a reminder than Caitlin will always have ongoing heart problems and will need annual check-ups with her cardiologist & paediatrician to monitor her condition.

Caitlin continues to manage her heart condition and she has decided to join the Heart Rider team at Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge event again this year. Even though she may not be able to finish the distance, she wants to challenge herself and to raise awareness of the scale and scope of childhood heart conditions in New Zealand.

This year, funds raised through the support of the Contact Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge cyclists will go towards Kids@Heart and helping little hearts have a big adventure at Camp Brave Hearts, a camp run annually (funds permitting) in Taupo by @Heart for Kiwi heart kids aged 8 – 12 years. 

Camp Brave Hearts is a week-long event for heart kids to just be kids, to do regular adventurous kid things, and share their challenges in a fun, safe, supportive environment under the careful supervision of a medical team.

Caitlin is looking forward to her Heart Ride in November and even more so, to going to Camp Brave Hearts in January 2012.

You can help a heart kid like Caitlin have a big adventure by setting up a fundraising page on www.everydayhero.co.nz/event/cyclechallenge2011 and ask your family, friends and whanau to help support your ride by making a donation towards @Heart.  NP. You can also text HEART to ‘2427’ to make a donation.

12 May, 2011

Every week in New Zealand 12 babies are born with a heart condition, and this month @Heart, the charity that helps these babies throughout their lives, is asking Kiwis to take the Heart Stopper Challenge and plunge into an icy pool for five minutes to raise funds and help support heart kids through life.

2 March 2011

Seven heart families from Christchurch temporarily relocated to a camp facility in Clevedon yesterday, feeling safe and relaxed for the first time since the devastating earthquake. They are among the first group of Cantabrian families of children with childhood heart conditions to stay at the camp organised by @Heart (formerly Heart Children NZ).

It's been three months since Greymouth's Tania Bugler was asked to take on the role of Family Support Worker for the West Coast. In that time, the Mum of three, has established a Support Group for local heart families, held the Coast's first ever Heart Stopper Challenge and gathered together a willing group to form a committee to take on the running of a local branch.

It's not every day Kiwis can enjoy a treat for a good cause, but buying a heart-shaped treat or coffee in August will help raise money to support children born with heart defects.

It was the first time Auckland's Nancy Fakaosilea (16) had ever attended Camp Teen Beat, @Heart's (formerly Heart Children NZ) annual camp for children aged 13 – 16 years. She totally loved it! Held in April and just metres from the Long Bay shoreline at Auckland's Sir Peter Blake Marine Education & Recreation Centre, the camp gave 46 teenagers a chance to challenge themselves on a variety of activities and to have fun.

2 February 2010

@Heart's CEO and President of the International Congenital Heart Disease Coalition (ICHC) Lara Syddall will be a keynote speaker at the 1st Pancyprian Congenital Heart Defects Congress with International Participation in Cyprus this week.

12 January 2010

On Tuesday 19 January, 66 heart children will jump and jam at the launch of New Zealand's first national 'Heart Jam'. The inaugural jump fest will take place at Lake Taupo Christian Camp, home of @Heart's (formerly Heart Children New Zealand) annual camp for heart kids aged 8 – 12 years.

25 November 2009

Old team mates ex All Black Eroni Clarke and the Iceman Michael Jones will team up again on Tuesday when they jump in the saddle for a training ride along the leafy lanes of Auckland's Western Springs. They'll be joined by Eroni's sister Silver Fern Sheryl Scanlan, sons Caleb (13), Eroni Jnr (11) and a few of Auckland's little heart riders out training for the Wattyl Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 5km Heart Ride (November 28). 

16 November 2009

Olympian Bevan Docherty takes the lead again as New Zealand attempts to break the Guinness World Record for the longest parade of bikes. 

11 November 2009

CEO of @Heart (formerly Heart Children NZ), Lara Syddall, was recently elected as President of the International Congenital Heart Disease Coalition at its first World Summit in Toronto. Made up of 24 countries with patient organizations, the Coalition voted unanimously to appoint Syddall as their first elected chair.

27 October 2009

There's a heart rider out training on a footpath near you ... so take a closer look at the fairy that cycles past your driveway this week. Or maybe it's the bull riding cowboy, who despite a day roping cattle and cleaning up his corral, has enough energy left for a meander up the road before bath time.

7 October 2009

Masters of Rugby League New Zealand and Auckland Masters Rugby League, hosts of this month's 2009 International Masters Rugby League Tournament, have chosen Heart Children NZ as the official charity of the event. It's a move that shows league players, though often big on brawn, are also big on heart.

20 August 2009

Farmers centenary celebration has seen stores around the country focus on giving back to their community by fundraising for a local charity or community project of their choice. For Farmers in Botany it's been a hearty affair with a whole host of planned events between 1 June and 31 August to raise funds for Heart Children New Zealand.

18 August 2009

Local Heart Children Branch was awarded the TrustPower Timaru District Community Award in the Health & Wellbeing category at a recent event at the council chambers. The awards are about recognising and celebrating the work of volunteers who give up many valuable hours to help others. 

11 August 2009

Late last week judges chose Simon Corbett's powerful image of Christchurch heart child Finlay Aitchison as overall winner of the 2009 Canon Creative for a Cause competition. Part of the prize was a donation of $25,000 to the family's nominated charity Heart Children New Zealand.

15 July 2009

Influenza A (H1N1) flu virus (commonly referred to as Swine flu) has now spread globally and the World Health Organisation has declared the pandemic as Phase 6 "Wide-spread Human Infection". Pandemic phases relate to the transmission and spread of the virus not its severity. Containment attempts have given way to treating those affected.