THE grandfather of a little York boy who underwent life-saving heart surgery within days of his birth has raised thousands of pounds for a heart charity.
Phil Fisher, from Pickering, said that when his grandson Jack was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect just after he was born, it was a devastating time for the family.
Thankfully, his life was saved by the medical team at Leeds General Infirmary's children’s heart unit, which had been provided with very expensive equipment by the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
"Following Jack's recovery, I decided to raise money for the charity to assist in providing funds that would help with the purchase of such equipment, so as to help other children in need of emergency heart treatment," he said.
Mr Fisher has since raised more than £6,300, having taken part in and organising walks, and having recently asked for donations in lieu of presents on his 70th birthday.
Phil Fisher and his grandson Jack
Jack, of Woodthorpe, was born in Scarborough in 2007 with a defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries and Kevin Watterson performed open-heart surgery when he was only eight days old, which was a complete success.
As he grew older, Jack, who attends Hob Moor Primary Special School, was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy, with very poor motor skills down his right side, and he also suffers with Epilepsy.
Within a few weeks of starting at the school, he started to walk. "It was a major breakthrough as we were very worried he would be confined to a wheelchair," said his father Eddie. "Jack continues to receive fantastic physiotherapy and occupational therapy at his school and is showing signs of improving every single day."
Eddie said the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, which has funded a tricycle specially adapted to help Jack gain more mobility, was an 'amazing charity,' adding: "Without it, many children would not survive their unfortunate heart conditions. I owe them everything because their fundraising helped provide the equipment that kept my son alive and eventually allowed him to pull through and recover from serious heart surgery."
Myriam Barker, community fundraiser at the fund said: "We are really grateful for Phil’s fantastic support. We couldn’t help the children affected by Congenital Heart Defects in our region, and their families, the way we do without the amazing fundraising efforts from supporters like Phil."
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