Mum’s mission to back heart charity

Rachel Adam-Smith was born with a heart defect which means she has had to have a pacemaker fitted.

And Rachel has more reason than many to make sure she stays healthy, as she is a single mother to Francesca Lily, who suffers from a rare chromosome condition 
which means she cannot speak and needs constant support.

She is now backing a campaign run by the British Heart Foundation to raise awarenesss of heart disease.

“When I was a child I was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries,” explains Rachel from Boston Spa.

“It means blood with very little oxygen was being pumped to the organs around my body.”

When she was ten months old she underwent lengthy open-heart surgery which saved her life. But it was as a young adult that things got difficult. “I was working as air cabin crew and I flew all over the world. But I would get palpitations when my heart beat very fast. It’s like this intense pounding in your chest.”

But it was when she was expecting her daughter Francesca, that Rachel becamse really poorly.

“I was living down south at the time and I had sought the advice of doctors about my pregnancy and they advised me that my condition just added a one percent risk of death in childbirth.”

But at 32 weeks Rachel went into heart failure.

She was kept in hospital for nearly five weeks until Francesca could be safely delivered. She then had to have a pacemaker fitted to try to make her heart beat more regularly.

However, Francesca was born with a number of problems, which for years Rachel put down to her own heart condition.

“I thought, and so did everyone else, that maybe it was the medication I was on or something that I had done. I felt really guilty for a number of years.”

But when Francesca was nine years old she was diagnosed as having a chromosomal abnormality, which was causing all her problems. Now, aged 11, she is about to start a special school but Rachel, a single mum, still has to do a lot for her.

“She cannot talk although she is very verbal and can sometimes make herself understood. But she is starting to get frustrated as she wants to do more and more things for herself but just isn’t able.”

Like any parent of a child with special needs, Rachel worries about the future. But her own health issues make her even more concerned.

“I do worry about the future,” she admits. “I do struggle with certain things, like taking Francesca swimming because the cold water affects my heart rhythm. I’ll also need more procedures for my heart in the future.” That’s one of the reasons why she has decided to join the British Heart Foundation’s “Ramping up the Red” campaign. Rachel is one of a number of heart disease sufferers to feature on television adverts encouraging people to organise a fund-raising event on February 7, to help the BHF raise awareness and money for vital research. “I have volunteered to do things for the BHF in the past and I just decided that I wanted to do something again to raise awarenss of heart disease, which kills more women than cancer.

“To look at me, no one would know that I have a heart condition.”

Louise Parkes, fundraising director at the BHF, said: “Ramp Up The Red is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to think about how many lives are affected by heart disease. By organising a fundraising event in February, you will be helping us to raise much-needed funds in order to fight heart disease. The BHF is the biggest funder of life-saving heart research in the UK to help everybody who suffers from a heart problem.

“This research has already made medical history but funds are urgently needed to fund further research.

“We offer our heartfelt thanks to Rachel for so generously dedicating her time and energy to help us continue our fight for every heartbeat.”

To order your fundraising pack, visit bhf.org.uk/red

• Rachel is holding a Steak & Bingo Ramp up the Red night at North Street Deli, Wetherby at 7.30pm on Friday. For tickets visit www.northstreetdeli.com