Family Spotlight

Layla was born with a condition called Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, which means she only has half a heart – unfortunately there is no cure for this condition. Layla’s mum, Aimee, tells us how Layla’s diagnosis has impacted their family and how the foundation was able to support:

“Layla underwent her first heart surgery when she was just 4 days old, and then open heart surgery at 4 months and 4 years old. She’s had 20+ procedures on top of this, including most of her teeth removed and feeding tubes placed. At the age of 3, Layla was also diagnosed with autism, which has made the understanding of why she goes through what she does very difficult.

Although there is no fix for Layla and her heart, we are forever thankful for the day-to-day life we get to live. I can’t say this journey has been easy, or if it will ever get easier, but we are still so very blessed. Layla is now 5 years old, with a little brother, Oscar, who is 3. Layla relies on her gastrostomy for her medications and her feeding multiple times a day. She also has a wheelchair to help her get around. Oscar is the best little brother and he can now give her the medications and fully understands tube feeding. He loves nothing more than pushing his sister around in her wheelchair.

Thanks to The Chris Aked Foundation we were able to go to CBeebies Land and have an overnight stay together in the Cbeebies Land hotel. We made absolutely amazing memories that we all still talk about, and will for years to come. We can’t thank The Chris Aked Foundation enough for everything they did for us as a family and for giving us the chance to do something so special.”