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.

    

Tana is one of the stars of the “Scars are for Fighters” awareness campaign for @Heart, the charity that provides support services for kids born with a congenital heart condition and their families.  Kicking off on the 5th for the duration of August, the @Heart campaign aims at raising awareness of the significant impact of childhood heart conditions on New Zealand families.

   scars_jointhebattle

Helping young people is something close to Tana’s heart.  He has set up a foundation dedicated to helping underprivileged young Kiwis to achieve their potential.   
 
Tana said, “I got involved with @Heart initially because it was for kids.  After meeting the kids and their families, it really hit home what a tough start to life these kids have had and how they have become real little battlers! It is very sobering to meet these fighters and hear their stories! I urge everyone to support these heart kids by making a donation to @Heart.”

Lorraine Warshaw, CEO @Heart said, “Congenital heart disease is often spoken of as a hidden disability.  It’s not until you see the long scar on the chest of the heart child that you know there is something wrong with his or her little heart.  In fact, their heart condition is not simply a health issue.  It affects all aspects of the lives of both the child and the family and they need our support to help them fight their battle with congenital heart disease.”

@Heart has been supporting heart kids and their families since 1984.  Our services are provided free-of-charge to them through our network of 18 affiliated branches across the country.  With appropriate and timely support, heart kids can successfully cope with the challenges of their heart condition and to lead a fulfilling life.

During Awareness Month, a series of activities will take place in different parts of the country including the Heart Stopper Challenge in Auckland’s Takapuna on Thursday 9th August, memorial services for our heart kids who have lost their battle, an online street appeal, and a national street appeal to be held on Friday 10th August.

You can help our Kiwi heart kids as they fight their battle by making a donation to @Heart.  Donations can be made at any branch of ASB Bank.  You can also donate online via @Heart’s donation website www.givingatheart.org.nz, or by texting HEART to 2427 for a $3 donation.   You can further help by popping a gold coin in @Heart’s donation buckets when volunteers collect on streets and in shopping malls around the country on Friday 10th August.

Profiles of Johnny Grimstone and Georgia Delmonte
@Heart Awareness Campaign heart kids

Starring with Tana in the campaign are Johnny Grimstone and Georgia Delmonte. They are two of the many heart kids fighting their battle with congenital heart disease every day. 

As bouncy as his curls, two and a half year old Johnny is a sweet little boy who loves running around. It’s hard to think that there is something wrong with his little heart.  He was born with a hole in his heart.  He also has two rare congenital heart conditions which include an interrupted aortic arch in which the aorta is not completely developed, and Truncus Arteriosus where his aorta and pulmonary artery are combined into one vessel, completely mixing up unoxgenated and oxygenated blood.  Without corrective surgery, his condition would have been fatal.

Nothing could prepare Johnny’s parents Chris and Kelly for the news at their 20-week scan. It was a real shock that their unborn baby had a heart condition, let alone that he would need to have at least four open heart surgeries between birth and his teen years. Johnny received his first open heart operation when he was just four days old. Mum Kelly said, “The day of the surgery was the toughest in our lives. We handed over our little one to the doctors knowing that we didn’t have a choice.”

The surgery went well and Johnny was finally able to go home after three and a half weeks in hospital.  Since then, he has had many trips to hospital for medical procedures and routine checkups.  Three months ago, he underwent his second open heart surgery and his battle continues.

Like Johnny, Georgia had a rocky start to life.  She was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome at birth. The left side of her heart was unable to pump enough blood to the body and the overworked right side of the heart would have eventually failed. Surgery was Georgia’s only chance of survival.

Georgia had her first open heart surgery when she was just four days old.  Fifteen weeks later, she underwent another open heart surgery to correct her condition.  She will need further open heart surgeries as she grows older. Dad Warwick said, “Our world shrank immediately after Georgia was diagnosed with a heart defect. All that mattered was our child’s recovery.”

Warwick is a partner at Zephyr WPD, a full service advertising agency in Auckland. He is the impetus behind the “Scars are for Fighters” campaign.  Because Warwick and his wife Sarah have been drawn unavoidably into the world of heart kids, they have had the opportunity to get to know other babies, toddlers and teens who are on the same journey as Georgia.  For many heart parents like Warwick, their heart child is a fighter with incredible inner strength and determination.  Their medal is the long scar on their chest announcing to the world that they are heart kids. This is the inspiration for the @Heart campaign.

When asked about Zephyr’s pro-bono support of @Heart, Warwick said, “Because of our 'connection to the cause' we were only too happy to come to the party with a determination to make this year's Awareness campaign as effective and as memorable as possible. It's always a pleasure to work with like-minded clients and despite the seriousness of the task at hand it was also a fun campaign to work on.”

About @Heart

@Heart is the only organisation in New Zealand dedicated to providing lifelong support for all those affected by childhood heart conditions. 

Started in 1980 by two heart mums due to a need for parental information and support, the network continued to grow and formalised itself as Heart Children Incorporated in 1984 and subsequently changed its name to Heart Children New Zealand Incorporated. 

With an increasing number of adults surviving childhood heart conditions, the organisation has responded by extending its support to heart children throughout their lives, not just in their younger years. It changed its name to @Heart Inc in 2010 to better represent all those affected by childhood heart conditions.  The organisation serves Kids@Heart, Teens@Heart, Adults@Heart and Families@Heart.

@Heart (www.heartnz.org.nz) now stretches across the nation providing kids, teens, adults and families affected by childhood heart conditions with free access to its 50+ services.  The charity is a non-government organisation and is not affiliated with the Heart Foundation.  Charity Registration CC20102.

For media enquiries and an interview with a heart child and their family in your area, please contact:

Kit Odlin
PR & Communications Coordinator @Heart
09-377 9950 X 815; 021 558 488
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www.heartnz.org.nz

@Heart media spokesperson:

Lorraine Warshaw
CEO @Heart
09-377 9950 X 804; 027 244 8331
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