Edinburgh Kiltwalk for the Golden Jubilee

Jo and I and our supportive friends Louise and Lauren are doing the Edinburgh Kiltwalk on 17 September 2023 to raise money in aid of the Golden Jubilee National Hospital as a thank you for the amazing care we have received. We will be walking 14.7 miles, and would be grateful for any donation received! Our team name is Pieced Together (because Jo and I were pieced back together by the Jubilee!)

10 years ago Jo and I had heart surgery two days apart at the Golden Jubilee, and have been friends since.

At the age of 29 I started having symptoms that I thought were caused by stress - palpitations, dizziness and occasional chest pain. I went to the doctor to get checked out just in case, assuming there would be nothing wrong. It turned out I had a tumour the size of an orange in my heart. After multiple MRI scans, a difficult biopsy and lots of tests in the space of a few weeks, doctors weren’t sure if it was operable. They consulted with cardiologists and surgeons around the world and it seemed I might need to go to America for an operation (which would have meant my parents selling our family home to pay for it). Then doctors here decided they would be willing to operate. I had open heart surgery at the Golden Jubilee and it was a success!  

During her pre-school checks Jo was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve.  At the age of 5 she had a valvuloplasty, and her first open heart surgery aged 7 to widen her aortic valve at the old Killingbeck hospital in Leeds. At the age of 35 Jo underwent the Ross procedure at the Golden Jubilee, replacing her aortic valve with her pulmonary valve, and received a donated pulmonary valve, and is doing really well. 

The care we have received at the Jubilee has been second to none, and all for free thanks to the NHS. We will be forever grateful. 

Louise and I have been best friends since we were 10 years old and Louise was a huge support to me through my illness and recovery. 

Lauren and Jo worked together for 3 years and whilst they've both moved on to other jobs they have remained friends.

Funds raised will go to the Scottish Adult Congenital Cardiac Service and the Scottish Government Heart Failure Hub at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.