Doncaster school raises £2,000 for heart surgery fund in support of pupil

Hill House School children, including many from the Isle, have raised a whopping £2,000 for The Children's Heart Surgery Fund in support of Year 2 pupil, Toby Johns.
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Toby, who has been under the care of Leeds General Infirmary since he was 6 days old, knows better than most just how vital donations like this are. Toby, of Auckley, Doncaster, was diagnosed with Aortic Stensosis, meaning his aortic valve had not formed properly. Despite his young age, Toby has already had two open heart surgeries. The first, as a 6 week old baby, removed his aortic valve and replaced it with the pulmonary valve, with a tube implanted to replace the pulmonary valve. By the time he had reached 3 years old, Toby had outgrown this tube and undertook his second major surgery to replace it. His Cardiologist and Surgeon are hopeful that this tube will last until Toby is a teenager.

Toby and his family have been raising money for The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and his classmates were keen to help.

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Toby’s teacher and Hill House Charity Co-ordinator, Michelle Lee, said, “Toby is a wonderful character, full of energy and charisma. He is very popular amongst his peers and we wanted to do something to support him. The whole school got involved, from Nursery all the way through to Sixth Form, and everyone has taken Toby to their hearts. The money was raised through a ‘wear something red’ day, the pupils changed one item of their uniform for an item of red clothing, with sweets stalls and raffles being held throughout the day.

Once the money had been counted, we wanted the children to see where the money was going to so took Toby, our Year 6 House Captains and Morgan, one of our Sixth Formers who was heavily involved in the organisation of the fundraising, to personally deliver the cheque to Leeds General Infirmary. Here, we learnt all about the new surgical theatre that they are building, and how the money raised allows families to stay overnight with children while they are in hospital.”

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund was founded in 1988 and provides support for children and adults born with congenital heart disease. Working alongside the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, they fund ground-breaking research as well as offering support to children and their families.

For more information about CHSF, including news, events and how you can get involved, visit www.chsf.org.uk