Congenital heart defects in Kiwi kids
One in 100 babies born in New Zealand has a congenital heart defect (CHD). More than 550 major heart surgeries are carried out on Kiwi kids each year. starts kicking a soccer ball around his backyard it’s evident from his wheezing breaths.
Ben has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect that affects the way blood flows through the heart. The left side of his heart did not form correctly during pregnancy, meaning he had to have three surgeries to “replumb” it all, mum Inge Doig said.
The first surgery was when Ben was just 8 days old, the second around 6 months, and the third near the age of 4.
He also has problems with his vocal cords as a result of the openheart surgery, which contributes to the wheezing.
The Karori boy plays football, cricket and does karate, but contact sports such as rugby are out because his daily blood-thinning medication means he’s more susceptible than most to a brain bleed.
So a special camp for kids like Ben to go to for adventurous but carefullyhandled activities is a great opportunity for him and his family.
Camp Braveheart is run by Heart Kids. It caters for about 100 youngsters who struggle to live a normal life and keep up with their friends, giving them a chance to do fun activities, share their problems, and build friendships.
Making friends is Ben’s favourite part of the camp, which he also went to last year. He befriended a Dunedin boy with the same heart condition and can’t wait to see him again at next week’s camp.
Ben will be able to attend school camps now that he’s in Year 5, but it’s unlikely his parents would send him away on a school camp without one of them being able to take time off work and go along as a parent volunteer.
Camp Braveheart, on the other hand, is a safe environment where each child’s condition is carefully managed and parents don’t have to worry.
Ben’s mum, Inge, says the services Watch the video at nzherald.co.nz Heart Kids provides are invaluable.
When Ben was born, Heart Kids was there to provide support to his stressed parents.
Since then, the organisation has also provided a portable machine the family can use at home to test his blood, something Ben normally would have to go to a doctor for regularly.
“For me, Heart Kids itself, it’s been a sort of an invaluable support network for the adults, especially when children are younger,” Inge said.
It was also a “real comfort” to Inge knowing that Ben was building lifelong friendships at camp with people who understood his challenges.