In March of 2024, my son Rory contracted RSV which then caused severe pneumonia with pleural effusion. He spent 1 week in the loving hands and care of doctors, paediatricians, nurses and all hospital staff at the RCH Melbourne. This was already an incredibly scary situation for us in itself, without adding in Rory's other complex health conditions. Rory has a perimembranous ventricular septal defect (a hole in his heart) which for Rory is hidden by his pulmonary and aortic valves, resulting in why it was very hard to discover and diagnose, we received the diagnosis of his VSD/congenital heart disease at 12months old.

In a normal heart, the left side of the heart pumps blood only to the body. And the hearts right side pumps blood to the lungs. But for Rory, blood also travels across this hole from the left ventricle to the right ventricle and out into the lung arteries.

With the scale of Rory's VSD, extra blood that is pumped into his lung arteries makes his heart and lungs work harder than they need to, and the lungs can become congested.

If or when Rory requires open heart surgery to repair the hole, this surgery will take place at the RCH.

The RCH is a place close to our hearts, they have gone above and beyond for our boy, and I know they will continue to do so with Rory's heart health.

Any funds we can raise for the Good Friday Appeal would be fantastic. Every donation, no matter how big or small, makes an enormous difference to sick kids and their families 💜