Harry marks 21st Christmas his parents feared he would never reach by 'elfing out'

Harry, from Prudhoe, Newcastle, was born with congenital heart disease on Christmas Eve, 2003. Shortly afterwards he underwent three lifesaving surgeries at the city’s Freeman Hospital, including a nine-hour operation to fix two of his heart’s four major chambers which were incomplete.

For this special milestone, he has also bought presents for his parents from the BHF Vintage store on Clayton Street, Newcastle, where he volunteered for the day alongside his mum, Lindsey, who spent every day of his 5-month hospitalisation at her baby son’s side.

Harry says, “This is a very special birthday coming up on Christmas eve for me and my parents. I wanted to do something that made a difference and give back to the British Heart Foundation. Without the research they’ve funded over the past 63 years surgeons like the amazing Mr Hasan and his team at the Freeman wouldn’t have been able to work their magic and save my life.”

Harry shared “I loved spending a few hours at the Newcastle Vintage store. There was so much needed doing, from sorting through books and toys to sorting clothes and helping behind the till. It was all go. Even in the space of a few hours we could see the difference we were making. The welcome from the team was wonderful. We just felt right at home and I’m hoping to volunteer regularly now."

“I bought my mum and dad a gift each from the store which I’m going to wrap up and put under the tree for them. Gifting something from a BHF store has so much meaning for us. I literally owe my life to the research that BHF funds, and my family are acutely aware of that.”

Lindsey says, “Harry was a very poorly baby and if someone could have told me back then that we would be celebrating his 21st birthday and having so much fun together, I wouldn’t have dared let myself think that far ahead."

“Sharing this day with him ‘elfing’ at the BHF shop has been a complete joy. I’ve bought Harry a present from here too and all our Christmas cards. I can see already that it’s going to be emotional on Christmas day when me and his dad Gary open these gifts.

“At four weeks, Harry was admitted to the Freeman for surgery to put a band around his heart to try and close the holes. He weighed just five pounds and 15 and three quarters ounces when he was born and he just couldn’t put weight on as he was too tired to feed.

“Two weeks later they removed the band as it wasn’t working and he then underwent a nine-hour operation to fix the holes. He spent three months in intensive care on a ventilator where he was fed through a tube. He didn’t like the band at all. He was a very unhappy poorly baby. He developed necrotizing enterocolitis of the bowel as his heart condition meant that his bowel wasn’t getting enough oxygen so it basically died and a large section of his bowel had to be removed which left him with a huge scar.”

“A couple of months later they realised his heart had swollen and the doctors decided to remove the band and do a full fix operation. It took nine hours. He was so tiny. Then he had another op to correct two hernias where they also took out his appendix. Gary and I went to the hospital every single day for five months until Harry was finally allowed to come home.”

“Harry was also born with five tiny spleens instead of one and with his liver on the wrong side. The spleens didn’t work properly so he was very prone to infection. He had to take antibiotics every day until he was 16.”

BHF Newcastle Vintage Store manager, Rebecca Shaw said: “We loved having Harry and Lindsey at the store helping out. It was very poignant for us to spend time with Harry knowing that the shops help fund the research that makes such a huge difference to people’s lives.

“I’m delighted that Harry wants to volunteer with us now on a regular basis having experienced an elfing shift with us. Many hands really do make light work and we need volunteers and are always ready with a warm welcome and a cup of tea, so please do pop into your local BHF store or go to our website.”

You can find out more about volunteering in our shops and stores here.