Matt & Vicki Davison's Fundraising Page

This page is on behave of my wife Vicki Davison & myself to raise money to support the Heart Foundation while we complete the Auckland Half Marathon at the end of October.

My Nephew was diagnosed with Coarctation of the aorta at birth, luckily my sister in law's midwife noticed that every time he took a breath he nodded his head forward and sent him off to get more tests done. (Aortic coarctation is a narrowing of part of the aorta (the major artery leading out of the heart. It is a type of birth defect)

At the age of 3 weeks he had to have heart surgery to correct this defect.

During surgery, the narrowed part of the aorta was removed and the two free ends of the aorta were re-connected. This is called anastomosis.

The surgery went well and he recovered well. At the age of around 4 years he had to undergo another surgery to stretch out the joined area, this is called a balloon angioplasty.

Currently they are keeping an eye on an excess piece of skin near the valve to make sure it doesn’t cover the valve.

He is now a wonderful active 10 year old boy who loves playing basketball, competes in the inter-school cross country team and has started rugby at school.

Sometimes at around puberty another operation will need to take place to access what a quick growth spurt (his father grew 11cm in one year during puberty) will do to the scar tissue surrounding the join as scar tissue will not grow at the same speed, so they are waiting to see what will happen over the next couple of years.

So, help me as I join the race to beat heart disease.

I've signed up as a Heart Racer to raise money to support the Heart Foundation. By donating through my webpage you will be helping the Heart Foundation continue its vital work in research, cardiac rehabilitation, education programmes and resources.

I'll do all the hard work (train for and complete the event), but I really need you to make a difference to the hearts of New Zealanders.

So, please could you sponsor me?

Select the "Make a donation" button below. It's simple, fast and totally secure and the money goes directly to the Heart Foundation's bank account.

If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

So please help me today! And pass it on to your family and friends!

Many thanks for your support