Family praise big HeartKids WA effort

Jake Mahoney and his family have survived the toughest ordeal of Jake’s young life but as with people most hit by childhood heart disease, the challenges linger.

Thirteen-year-old Jake was born with the rare condition aortic stenosis for which he had open heart surgery.

Although he hasn’t required an operation for some years, parents Kath and Jamie Mahoney were prepared for another eventual surgery to replace the donor valve standing in for their boy’s pulmonary valve.

“Early on in the piece it was quite full on…we are on the back end of it now, there are heaps of families worse off than we are, ” Mr Mahoney said.

February is International Childhood Heart Disease Awareness Month which support organisation HeartKids WA draws on to raise the profile of six babies being born with heart defects every day in Australia.

Mr Mahoney said the role of HeartKids had been vital and ongoing help was needed to fundraise for the organisation.

“Being from the country we’ve been put up in hotels, reimbursed for different costs – (and) Jake has just been on a HeartKids camp to Melbourne, ” he said.

“If everyone realised what kids, the parents and the whole family went through as well, they would be only too happy to dip into their pockets and give $5 or $10.”