Record turnout for annual charity walk to support families dealing with childhood-onset heart disease

Families turned out in record numbers to get behind HeartKids’ annual Two Feet & A Heartbeat walk in Perth on Sunday, raising funds to support people dealing with or grieving from childhood-onset heart disease.

The annual event raises money to increase accessibility to the charity’s support services and programs in hospitals and communities, provided by families of survivors and people bereaving their loss.

Each day in Australia, eight babies are born with CoHD. And every week, four young lives are lost to it.

Shelley Ure, fundraising and events coordinator, said up to 1000 people descended on Burswood Park for the walk, with about $120,000 already raised before it began.

“I can see it going up,” Ms Ure said.

“That’s our biggest event yet. It was just amazing.”

Tegan Paulo fought back tears as she described how much the charity had helped her family in its darkest hours after son Archer was diagnosed with a 7mm ventricular septal defect - a hole in his heart - at just six weeks old.

Ms Paulo said she and has husband Urban were left feeling “broken”.

“It’s horrible with anyone but when it’s kids, it’s 10 times worse,” she said.

At just four months, Archer underwent open-heart surgery to repair the hole.

And now, aged nine, he beamed as he officially opened the walk.

He’s planning his future - running his own reptile park and a fresh juice business on the side.

“He’s already doing amazing things,” Ms Paulo said, adding HeartKids was “what got us through”.

“They are always there for anything - a chat, a hug,” she said.

“They understood. They are such special people.”

Aussie rules star and charity ambassador Mitch McGovern said he was in awe by the walk turnout and moved by a tribute to the youngsters who had lost their battles with CoHD.

He became involved after a friend in the Albany neighbourhood where he grew up lost his life to a heart condition, aged 18.

“Seeing him experience what he had to go through, the support HeartKids gave was something I took note of,” the Blues defender said.

“I’m just trying to help spread that word.”

Ms Ure said the park had been the perfect spot for it, as people cycling and walking through had stopped to ask what the event was about.

Families who had benefited from the services after the devastating shock of diagnoses returned each year, she said, as they wanted to give back.

“The support work that we’re doing is making a big difference,” she said.

The charity began in 1979 and is the only one of its kind in Australia.