Freezing fundraising for heart illness
Tracey Lithgow is all for plunging into a pool of icy water if it helps babies with heart defects.
The mother of four was quick to participate in @ Heart’s Heart Stopper Challenge on March 22.
Lithgow said the charity, that supports Kiwi children and families affected by congenital heart disease, helped her through the toughest 10 weeks of her life.
@Heart, alongside other Ronald McDonald sponsors, funded the family’s $8000 stay at the Ronald McDonald house while Lithgow’s then 3-month-old son Kalen Collins endured two open- heart surgeries.
She said spending five minutes in freezing water was a little taste of what her son went through when surgeons brought his body temperature down and removed his heart to operate on it.
Combined, the 38, costume-clad teams of four to six people raised $28,000.
But it is not just about the money, Lithgow said.
Kalen’s life-saving operations only happened because of ‘‘ a mother’s intuition’’.
‘‘We went to a GP when he was 6 weeks because my friend said his heart was beating fast but the doctor told us it was normal.
‘‘On March 12, 2012, we ended up here [Tokoroa] in an ambulance because he was sweating and wasn’t responding.’’
She said the doctor told her that if he sent her son to Waikato hospital they would be home within 24 hours.
Seven days later Kalen was laying on the operating table.
‘‘If I hadn’t picked things up he would have been dead by the end of the week.’’
She said she hopes to raise awareness about heart defects and the seriousness of the issue.
‘‘Just get your babies double checked and go with your gut instinct.’’
@Heart research shows that 12 babies are born with a heart defect in New Zealand every week.
The charity is the only one that supports Kiwi children and families affected by congenital heart disease, right through their life, yet it receives no government funding.