A great way to help raise awareness is to approach the local media when our kids reach milestones such as getting home from hospital, birthdays or other special occasions. Most journalists are willing to report on these amazing children.
A few tips on how to get a good story:
- Most reporters will want to put their own 'spin' on their articles. Make sure, right from the start, that they know why you want them to write about your child (eg. raise awareness, funds for research, etc.) and what the main points are that you would like covered. It is probably a good idea to write this down before you do the interview.
- Give the writer of your story some good background information about HLHS and your child. However, try to keep the medical details to a minimum as they probably cannot be adequately covered in a 'human interest' story and may be misinterpreted.
- Ask the reporter to include some details of where readers can find out more about HLHS: RCH Website, Hearts of Hope Australia etc.
Try and get the reporter to agree to letting you see/read the article before it is published. Not all publishers are willing to do this but if you stress that it is vital that the facts about HLHS are presented correctly, they may give you a preview.
Please click on the title to view the full article:
- 24/10/2017in Press Articles, Uncategorized
Father of ECMO Inspires Next Generation of Doctors and Researchers
His “outrageous” idea that saved thousands of babies shows the importance of big thinking. By Beata Mostafavi Robert Bartlett inspires the next generation of doctors and researchers. Hannah Cheriyan was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Just hours old and in respiratory distress, she was airlifted to the Newborn Inte... - 15/09/2016in Press Articles
Congenital Heart Defects: What Parents Want You to Know
9 Things Parents of Kids With Congenital Heart Defects Want You to Know Here are nine things parents of children with a congenital heart defect (CHD) want you to know, but may be too scared to say: 1. My child’s diagnosis is most likely worse than you think it is. One of the wonderful but... - 13/09/2016in Press Articles
Aussie connection to Norwood “Sano Modification”
Cardiovascular surgeon Professor Shunji Sano is Deputy Director of Okayama University Hospital and internationally renowned for his contributions to the surgical treatment of congenital heart disease including the ‘Sano Procedure’ for the hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)—”A Benchmark for the Surgical Treatment of Congenital ... - 09/09/2016in Press Articles
Using newborns’ own umbilical cords as shunts for heart surgery – Vector
A new approach to single ventricle heart surgery in infants replaces plastic shunts with the patient’s own umbilical vein to prevent blood clots. Source: Using newborns’ own umbilical cords as shunts for heart surgery – Vector... - 23/11/2002in Press Articles
Message of Hope as Heart Boy Still Fights for Life
The Weekend Australian As three-week-old Nathan Garcia continued to struggle for life yesterday in intensive care at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, Joanne Crisp sent him and his parents a message of hope from Perth. Two years ago, Joanne’s son James had the same critical heart surgery in Melbourne to correct his hea... - 16/11/2002in Press Articles
Little Nathan Clings to Life
The Australian NATHAN Garcia, 13 days old, clings to life in the intensive care unit at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital by 18 lines, ventilators, tubes and monitors. He was born in Perth on Sunday last week with a heart defect, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and if he had not been flown to Melbourne and... - 12/08/2002in Press Articles
Heart of the Syndrome
The Hobart Mercury Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) means the left side of the newborn’s heart did not develop normally, preventing blood being pumped properly around the body. Until now, there were four options for parents with babies suffering from HLHS: termination of the pregnancy, compassionate care, transplantation or the t... - 12/08/2002in Press Articles
‘Unknown’ Operation a Lifesaver
The Hobart Mercury FIVE months ago Ben and Veronica Sneesby were told their unborn baby had no chance of survival. But today the couple are proud parents of three-week-old Phelicity after using their life savings to get to the other side of the world for a ground-breaking operation they were told didn’t exist. When... - 08/05/2002in Press Articles
Full Credit Must Go to Hospital
Northern Territory News I AM writing with regards to the article “Our Babies Beat Odds” in the Sunday Territorian on April 21. I am Casey’s mother and I would like to say in this letter what was totally missed in our story. The main reason we decided to do this story was to give... - 21/04/2002in Press Articles
Our Babies Beat Odds
Sunday Territorian When Casey Court and Sam Jewell were in their mothers’ wombs, doctors gave them little chance of survival. The two young Territorians had been diagnosed with a deadly, rare disease – Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. The left side of their hearts were poorly formed and could not support the main circulation. Onl...