Parents of two-year-old with heart defect are backing the MyWiSH Every Heart Matters appeal

Little William Mingay was born with a congenital heart defect and one he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

The two-year-old had a hole in his heart and no pulmonary value and underwent open heart surgery and a heart bypass just days after his birth. And he will also have to have further surgery when he gets older.

William, who lives with his five-year-old sister Ella Rose, mother Michelle Mingay and her partner Liz Cotton, in Spencer Way, Stowmarket, has to have a routine echo cardiogram and electrocardiogram at the West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, to monitor his progress.

But Michelle and Liz are full of praise for the care and concern by staff at the hospital, particularly paediatric consultant Dr Martina Noone and her team.

And they are now backing the My WiSH Every Heart Matters appeal which is aiming to raise £500,000 to help fund building a brand new cardiac centre at the hospital.

The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is investing £5.2m in developing a state of the art cardiac suite that will provide quicker access to more treatments, but the £500,000 My WiSH is hoping to raise will lead to the whole unit, which is currently fragmented on different floors, being brought together in one purpose-built centre.

William Mingay

William suffers from a rare illness called Tetralogy of Fallot. He had a normal birth back in July 2015 but had a heart murmur and returned to the hospital a month later when it was discovered he had the heart defect.

The following October he had open heart surgery at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and was transferred back to the Rainbow Ward, at the West Suffolk Hospital, 10 days later.

William Mingay just after he was born

Now Liz, a ward manager at the West Suffolk, and Michelle, who works with children with special needs, have to ensure that William has his regular checks before he needs further surgery.

Liz said: “Our world came crashing down just after William was born but the staff at the hospital have been just amazing and if we ever have any problems we will get seen immediately, they are so good and Ella Rose has even had a scan to ensure she is ok.”

Dr Noone said: “We see around 450 paediatric patients here at West Suffolk Hospital and they range from a simple hole in the heart to complex extreme congenital heart defects.

“These complex patients often come with other problems, including learning difficulties, so having a calm environment with tools to help distract will just be fantastic.

“This obviously, not only benefits the child, but also makes the whole procedure much easier for their parents or carers.”

If you want to support the Every Heart Matters appeal go to the website www.mywishcharity.co.uk

If you would like to donate to the appeal you can do so by going to

Justgiving.com/ehma or text EHMA17 £10 to 70070.

Pictured above are, left to right, are Liz Cotton, Ella Rose and William Mingay and the childrens’ mother Michelle Mingay.