Today we are promoting a GoFundMe page for a Gashead family in need of our support; Charlotte Gibbs was diagnosed with heart failure 12 years ago after suffering with breathlessness while pregnant with her daughter Isla.
But it was after her second pregnancy with her son, Albie, that her symptoms grew more severe and doctors confirmed she would need a heart transplant after she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, external – a disease of the heart muscle, affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body.
Thankfully the doctors have been able to stabilise her condition and Charlotte is now on the urgent heart transplant waiting list and will remain in Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, hospital until a suitable donor heart becomes available. Nobody knows how long that wait will be.
Every weekend, her husband Mike takes Isla and Albie to see their mum — an approximately seven-hour round trip with two young children. They make that journey because seeing Charlotte and spending those precious hours together means everything to them.
The aim of the fundraiser is simply to take some of the financial pressure away from the family and to give them the freedom to visit Charlotte without the constant worry about what each journey will cost. It could enable them to stay overnight when they need to, giving Isla and Albie more time with their mum and making an incredibly difficult situation just a little easier.
We are happy to offer the Gibbs family our support; please see their story by following this link.