Startforth family raises £5,000 to say thank you to hospital unit

A Startforth family have thanked everyone for their generosity after they raised more than £5,000 for a hospital unit that gave their little girl a second chance at life.
Sarah and Michael Mulvaney organised a Healing Tiny Hearts charity ball in aid of the Children’s Heart Unit Fund, which supports cardiac care for children at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle.
The couple benefited from the work of the charity first hand when their daughter, Sophia, who will be three next month, was born with potentially fatal heart complications in 2013.
As well as having a condition which meant that her aorta and pulmonary artery were the wrong way round, the youngster was also born with a hole in her heart and a narrow aorta.
At just seven days old, Sophia underwent open heart surgery.
Mrs Mulvaney, 31, who is also mum to 23-month-old Reece said: “They had to switch the valves around, so Sophia’s heart would pump the blood around her body the right way, and widen her aorta. She was in theatre for over eight hours.”
Sophia has a stent in her pulmonary artery, which was also too narrow. She attends the Freeman Hospital every six months for a check up.
Mrs Mulvaney said: “If you met Sophia you would not know there was anything wrong at all. She is always happy.
“At the moment she is doing really well. The last time she was at hospital she had put on weight and there had not been any additional narrowing.
“As Sophia grows, they might not grow at the same rate she does so that has to be monitored. She will definitely have to have another open heart surgery but they can’t tell us when. We will have to just wait and see.
“They have a brand new play room there which is amazing. When you are there you think, ‘someone has raised the money to do all of this’. If people didn’t do that then those things wouldn’t be there. The work that the unit does and how they have helped us is invaluable.”
In recognition of the unit’s care, the family organised their first fundraising event at the Jersey Farm Hotel on October 29. More than 100 guests attended the ball which included a three course meal, a silent auction, raffle and entertainment by Prime Time.
Mrs Mulvaney said: “I was not sure how it was going to go but it went really well. Everyone had a good night. We have not get an exact total yet but it is well over £5,000.
“We would just like to say a big thank-you to everyone who donated and helped to set up the event. There are too many people to name but we would not have been able to do it without them.”
To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Healing-Tiny-Hearts.