Story
At just two weeks old, our daughter Evelyn went into heart failure and at just 8 weeks old had to have open heart surgery to repair her heart.
ECHO was so supportive and amazing, I want to say thank you and Evelyn is doing amazing since she left Evelina London. I’m forever grateful. Choosing to support ECHO during heart month was a no brainier for us.
We found out Evelyn was going to be born with a heart defect at our 20 week scan and from that moment on life was a whirlwind. Taking a trip to the Evelina London became a regular occurrence and as her delivery grew closer our anxiety rocketed.
Our first appointment after her birth at 12 days old saw Evelyn being admitted due to the effects of her condition and the reality of what we were embarking on began. My wife was up in London alone and I was at home caring for our other daughter.
From that moment things felt lonely, but at this point we were presented with information on ECHO it was a comfort to know there were other parents like us and that there was hope.
ECHO have been the support circle that our friends and family couldn’t give.
On our following visits to the Evelina London whilst the journey didn’t get any less scary, ECHO helped us from the random questions in the middle of the night to the posts of hope and support and the life long friends we have made.
Thank you to all the team behind the scenes, those that have already helped us so much and the wider ECHO community. We wouldn’t have got through any of this without you.
In February 2022 Darren will take part in a Zipwire challenge in aid of ECHO to mark National Heart Month, you can make a donation to his fundraiser here on JustGiving.
