Kiltwalk beckons for Buckie mum after heart surgery
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A YOUNG mum from Buckie who has just recovered from heart surgery is taking on a charity challenge to raise money for life saving research into heart and circulatory diseases.
Hayley Paisley and her friends and family have signed up for this year’s virtual Kiltwalk event over April 23-25 in support of British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland.
The 37-year-old was born with the congenital heart condition Tetralogy of Fallot. Those born with the condition have four specific structural abnormalities in the heart, which mean they often have to undergo open heart surgery early in life.
She underwent her first heart surgery when she was four years old, had a further operation eight years ago, and her most recent valve replacement surgery, just a few weeks ago at Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.
Incredibly, two weeks after her operation, Hayley was out training for the Kiltwalk.
Hayley said: “I cannot thank the NHS and the staff at Golden Jubilee enough.
"I was told that keeping myself fit was part of the reason I am so well. I love walking and with everything that has happened to me over the years, the Kiltwalk gives me the perfect opportunity to do something for a charity that is close to my heart.”
The BHF is the largest independent funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases in Scotland. Every month thirty babies are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect in Scotland. Before the BHF existed, the majority of babies born in the UK with a serious heart defect did not survive to their first birthday. Today, thanks to research and advances in care, around eight out of 10 survive to adulthood.
“I am living proof of the benefits of research,” added Hayley.
“It has transformed so many lives, including my own, and I’m here able to watch my daughter Poppy growing up, which means everything.
"Doing the Kiltwalk is my way of saying thank you to the BHF. Research has improved medical science as rather than spending weeks recovering from open heart surgery, I was out of hospital the next day after treatment through the groin and was able to get on with normal life much more quickly.”
Hayley and her friends plan to walk 16 miles from Fochabers to Aberlour as part of the Kiltwalk weekend and are hoping to raise £1000 for the nation’s heart charity.
Their fundraising efforts come at a critical time for the BHF. The last 12 months have been the hardest in its 60-year history. The Covid-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on its income and as a result, research funding had to be cut in half, putting future life-saving discoveries at risk.
James Jopling, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “Our research in Scotland and across the UK to help save and improve lives is only made possible thanks to wonderful supporters like Hayley, and we need the public’s support now more than ever.
“Cutting research funding will impact the development of new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating heart and circulatory diseases and we cannot allow the progress we have made over the last six decades to slow. That’s why we’re so inspired by Hayley and her friends, taking part in wonderful events like the Kiltwalk and fundraising for us in these challenging times, to help us beat heartbreak forever.”
There is still time to sign up to BHF Scotland’s Kiltwalk team, you can find more details at www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/events
For more about the work of the BHF and how you can help support us, visit www.bhf.org.uk
