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David's Story

Name: David Makinson Age: 54, born May 1964 Age Diagnosed: Soon after birth at The Middlesex Hospital, London – the child of a single mother who wished to put me up for adoption. How has CHD affected your mental health? In a nutshell,…
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Emily's Story

Name: Emily Sterling Age: 24 Age when diagnosed: 6 weeks old Condition: Bicuspid aortic valve, mixed aortic valve disease (aortic stenosis and regurgitation) In February 2015 (just after my 20th birthday) I had open heart surgery…
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Liza's Story

Name: Liza Morton Age: 41 Age Diagnosed: At birth Condition: Congenital heart block and a surgically fixed atrial septal defect (ASD) Growing up, I tried to focus on the positives but we are our stories and mine emerged from difficulty.…
Patient: Adam Stevens
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Adam's Story

Name: Adam Stevens Age: 39 Age when diagnosed: 2 weeks (originally suspected ToF) Condition: Transposition of the great arteries. How has having a heart condition impacted on your mental health? It’s given a schema of life that…
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Roderick's Story

Name: Roderick Skinner Age: 77 Age when diagnosed: 44 Condition: Triple bypass and replacement of defective (congenital)  aortic valve with a mechanical heart valve. How has having a heart condition impacted on your mental health? The…
Somerville Foundation Appeal
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Susan's Story

Name: Susan Manley nee Millard Age: 66 Age when diagnosed: Before 1 year old Condition: Three holes in the heart and faulty Tricuspid valve How has having a heart condition impacted on your mental health? We were the experimental…
Somerville Foundation
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Izzy's Story

Read an Extract from Izzy's original post... My Open Heart. I started to walk faster, legs shaking, and sheer panic overtook my entire body. As fast as my shaking legs could take me, I stumbled down the escalator of Oxford Circus station, attempting…

Counselling Support for Children and Young People

Here are some options you can explore to find  counselling and psychological support near you. Youth Counselling Services: Based in your local area, sometimes run by the local authority or by a charity. These vary across the country and…

My life on Warfarin

I have been taking the drug warfarin since I was just six months old. I'm now 23, and when I tell people I take warfarin, they are sometimes confused and shocked. Why would a seemingly healthy 23 year old woman be on a drug commonly associated…
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Getting older with CHD - Part 2

"acquiring" other conditions This is the second of two articles Written by Dr Leisa Freeman, Consultant GUCH Cardiologist, and Toni Hardiman, Specialist GUCH Nurse GUCH Clinic Norfolk & Norwich University NHS Hospital.  These articles…