Local mum’s new role supporting families of children with heart conditions

A Bradley Stoke mum is helping set up one of two new centres in the south west that will help support families of children with serious heart conditions.

The Heart Heroes charity, based in Gloucester, is opening branches in Bristol and Wales, so it can help even more families, with its regular events, support groups and signposting services.

“Our goal is for children and their siblings to be included in all our events, along with parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles and any other close family,” said the charity’s founder Kelly Cornish.

“By opening two new centres, we can reach more families. Once we are allowed to meet up again, we will start putting on local events for them, which will include coffee mornings where parents meet and support each other.”

The Bristol Heart Heroes Hub is being run by mum-of-three Nicola Morris, whose second child, Calum, was born with a heart condition.

Calum was just 13 days old when he had his first heart surgery. Now 14, he has undergone open heart surgery five times and countless other procedures, with many complications.

“We weren’t allowed to take Calum home until he was six weeks old,” said Nicola.

“I remember sitting in a postnatal group, hearing the other mums talking about sleepless nights, and thinking that my experience and worries were so different that I just didn’t belong.”

She added:

“The idea of Heart Heroes is to bring families together to share their experiences and support each other. I am involved in a Facebook group called Heart Families South West. By now having a Heart Heroes Hub in Bristol, this takes the support a stage further as we can meet up – when we are allowed – and hold events and coffee mornings.”

The Heart Heroes Hub will also hold meet ups on the Cardiac Ward at Bristol Children’s Hospital, so families whose children are in hospital can benefit from the Hub’s support when they need it most.

For more information about the Heart Heroes Hub in Bristol call Nicola on 07790 43174 or email nicola@heartheroes.co.uk

This article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 16). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.