Monday 16 April 2018

Louise, Jessica & Little Hearts Matter....

I started blogging just over 5 years ago and one of the first blogs I remember following and hanging on every word was Louise's. Little Hearts Big Love. I have mentioned her many times on my blog before...


Louise was the first blogger who I came across who blogged about heart defects....She gave me the confidence to blog about my girls heart defects which sounds silly to say but when I first shared my girls and my girls heart defect story I did not know there was a community of other bloggers writing and shouting about the same thing!....A few years ago I was even featured on her blog during heart month, sharing mine and my girls story....

Jessica, Louise's daughter was born with a condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) which basically meant she had half a working heart....Jessica was given her first heart surgery before she was even born and many more after.....Late last year she had more heart surgery

I did not expect to switch my laptop on Saturday afternoon and see the devastating news from Louise. I saw it first on Twitter by someone saying they were thinking of Louise.....I thought the worst, as she is in fact pregnant with her third child but that was not the worst.......Facebook gave me answers which I couldn't believe.


"I am grateful for six and a half amazing years with this little girl. We are utterly broken-hearted right now. Jessica passed away in the early hours of this morning. She brought us so much joy and we are thankful for every moment we got to have with her. It was more than we thought we would have in the early days but it will never be enough. Fly high my beautiful girl" - Louise George (mother)

Becky came downstairs to find me crying...I couldn't speak but I showed her the Facebook post. She understood. Even though I had never met Jessica I had watch her grow up via Louise's blog. Even though I don't know the family in real life my heart breaks for them....

It has really cut me up.....Obviously nothing compared to what Louise, her husband and daughter are feeling. I am a parent of children with heart problems and I know how quickly things can change....Thankfully I have never had to live it first hand but I have read about it through people I have met through the "heart community".....

Over the past day or so seeing all the messages of support for Louise and her family has been amazing.. Jessica was a very special girl who touched so many lives....She always had a smile on her face and lived life to the fullest.

Katie who blogs at Mummy in a TuTu set up a Just Giving page to raise money to honour the brave, courageous amazing heart warrior that was Jessica....Little Hearts Matter supported Jessica and her family throughout her life and that is where the money will be going.....It has already smashed the £500 target. It did that within a few hours but if you have a little I am asking to thinking about donating.

My thoughts go to Louise, her husband Michael, Sophie & the rest of the family.....Jessica may be gone but she's not forgotten...She was an amazing young girl.

7 comments :

  1. So sad, such a lovely family and beautiful little girl who always looked so happy with a smile on her face x

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  2. Such an amazing little girl and an amazing family. I was absolutely devastated to see the news on Saturday and still can't believe it now. I can't imagine how Louise and her family are feeling, but I know that the blogging community are giving them just a little bit of comfort now. x

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  3. So so sad. I also had tears running down my cheeks as I read Louise's update. Jessica was such a beautiful little girl with the brightest smile x

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  4. It was such a shock to hear the news of Jessica passing away. I can't imagine what the family are going through. So sad as Jessica was an amazing, beautiful little girl x

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  5. This news really had me upset too. I totally understand how you can get caught up and feel all the feelings for people virtually as much as offline. I've only ever known one other person to have a heart condition and he grew up to be an electrician. It doesn't feel right that he should live so long and her life was cut short. #mmbc

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  6. Beautiful post, well done for finding the words. So terribly sad. Rest in peace little Jessica <3 xx
    #mmbc

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing such a beautiful post about Jessica. I'm glad that our story gave you the confidence to blog about your girls' heart defects and I'm so glad too that they are both doing so well and hopefully will continue to do very well for many, many years. That support from the blogging community has helped us over the last couple of weeks and knowing we are surrounded by the love and thoughts of others does make our pain a little easier to bear x

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