Lana Kanie

💛 For Layla and Every Little Heart — Walking to Give Back

I never thought heart disease would touch my family — let alone my newborn baby.

Layla was born on 8 May 2023, and what should’ve been one of the happiest times of our lives became the most terrifying. She stopped breathing soon after birth, and a heart murmur was found. Within hours, she was in ICU, placed in an incubator, and by day four, flown to Melbourne for open-heart surgery to repair Coarctation of the Aorta. She was also diagnosed with a heart valve defect, something she will carry with her for life.

I was heartbroken. I felt lost. I had my family there — my husband, my sister-in-law, my father-in-law — and their support was everything. But even with them, it was hard to breathe through the fear.

And then there was my son. Just two and a half years old. He didn’t understand why Mum wasn’t there. He needed me, and I couldn’t be with him. That broke my heart in a whole different way. To make it worse, it was Mother’s Day. A day I should’ve spent with both my babies, but instead I spent it in a hospital, praying my daughter would make it through recovery.

But amidst all of that heartbreak, HeartKids were there. Calling to check in. Explaining things I couldn’t make sense of. Helping us in ways big and small — even financially, when we didn’t know how we’d manage. They were the only constant outside of family when everything else was falling apart.

I’m sharing my story because I want to give back. HeartKids — and the Heart Foundation — are working every day to help families like mine who are thrown into a world of heart disease without warning.

If you’re able to, please support my fundraiser. Every donation helps a family sitting right now in ICU, holding on to hope.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for walking this journey with us.

#HeartFoundation #HeartHealth #HeartKids #CongenitalHeartDisease #Motherhood #Family #RealStories #SupportingFamilies #Fundraiser