On Saturday, 17 October, Camryn and her family will join the HeartKids community at the Mackay Two Feet & A Heartbeat walk.
Camryn was diagnosed with a heart condition during pregnancy. After a short stay in special care following her birth, she was admitted to Queensland Children’s Hospital at five months old with low-oxygen spells, leading to surgery at six months old.
Camryn’s mum, Kimberly, shares their journey from uncertainty and worry to watching Camryn show just how resilient she can be.
Can you tell us about Camryn’s heart journey?
We received the news during a pregnancy scan that our daughter would be born with Tetralogy of Fallot. I’m glossing over it here – but that was a very rough day.
Throughout our pregnancy and when Camryn was born, she was monitored by incredible doctors, including our first Paediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Rosh Samuel. We were shocked to be able to head home after a very short stay in the special care nursery.
Once home, she was a very normal baby, until she experienced frightening low-oxygen spells (Tet Spells) at five months old. This led to our admittance to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where she had surgery at six months old for a ‘full repair’.
Since her surgery, she has blown us away with her resilience and the speed of her recovery. Apart from her little ‘zipper’, you wouldn’t know she had been through what she has in her short life so far.
How has HeartKids supported your family?
When we received the diagnosis, Camryn’s Dad, Brendon, immediately looked for information to help us to understand this diagnosis and what the future could be. We were incredibly anxious and found the uncertainty of the future so difficult.
He found HeartKids online and we read the stories of families who had received similar news for their little one. These stories were hope for us during a really difficult time.
What do you wish more people understood about childhood heart conditions?
I would like people to understand that it is more common than you might think. These little ones truly are resilient little heroes. So many heart kids go on to live a totally normal life, thanks to the astoundingly capable and talented cardiologists, surgeons, nurses and researchers who treat them.
Once I shared with people that my daughter had a heart condition, I would often hear of people’s connections to heart kids in their own families. It has surprised me how often this happens.
What would you say to another heart family?
Being born with a heart condition is the beginning of a unique story for your little one. It’s one that you never would have chosen for them or yourself, but you are not alone.
Words can’t do justice to the intense worry and fear of the unknown – of seeing them go through very tough experiences which you can’t take away from them, and of having to trust others with your precious little one.
But please remember: you love your child, you are their most-important advocate, and you are not alone.
Special kids really do need special parents. Today, we feel that we are not only better parents, but better people, because of our daughters’ special heart.
To support families like Camryn’s, register to attend your local Two Feet & A Heartbeat walk today.
