Madison and her twin sister Sophia are four, turning five, and while Madison has already undergone three major operations, the family already knows there will more surgery required at some stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has now been diagnosed with a narrowing of her bronchial tube, so when she runs around, only one lung is working,\u201d Hannah said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to prepare for another operation; we\u2019ve been told it will be in her childhood but that could be when she\u2019s 15. I\u2019m hoping it will be when she\u2019s older because when they\u2019re little they don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are still really, really lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hannah explained that although she had been involved with Heartkids for several years, she was surprised how many people in the community had their own heart story to tell but didn\u2019t know there was a local support group.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many people have been touched, nearly all of the stallholders have a story, they all really want to be there,\u201d she said, explaining that some had a personal heart experience, some had lost a child or knew of someone who had.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/08\/Pearl-Kids-July-2021-SM-3-1024x683.jpg?_t=1628722673\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the day there will be a memorial for the Heartkids who are no longer with us, the walk, and the market with 28 stalls without site costs thanks to Villawood donating the piece of land for the market which has to be fenced off because of COVID restrictions. We couldn\u2019t have done it without them,\u201d she said, shouting out to Mike from Villawood for his patience and kindness.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarket stallholders are all donating back either a dollar value of what they sell, or a percentage, and there will Club Activation bring the event to life and Vital Heart providing free heart checks for the parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stallholders will also offer candles, slices, cakes, dried flowers, fresh flowers, and coffee, along with roving entertainers, the local CFA truck, jumping castle and face painting at the event.<\/p>\n
Sponsors include Connectel, Avenue Five real estate, Villawood Properties, Kerr\u2019s Hire, and Darren Cheeseman.<\/p>\n
HeartKids is the only national not-for-profit organisation solely focused on supporting and advocating for all people impacted by childhood heart disease, one of the largest causes of infant death in Australia.<\/p>\n
Heartkids seeks to give every child a fighting chance of leading a long and fulfilling life and be recognised as the leader in the fight to conquer childhood onset heart disease in Australia.<\/p>\n
To register for the Two Feet and a Heartbeat Charity Walk at Mount Duneed or find out how to donate, visit the twofeetheartbeat website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HANNAH Pearl says the highlight of organising the local Two Feet and a Heartbeat Charity Walk has been meeting so many people with Heartkids connections and hearing their stories. The Geelong mum has also found a special connection with the local business owners impacted by COVID who will be joining the charity\u2019s community market, with […]<\/p>\n