Fundraising for the heart foundation

Hi dear reader,

Hi dear reader, It has been a while since I wrote my last life blog. In the previous blog I told about my second operation and my stay at the rehabilitation clinic. During this stay I regretted very fast. This ensured that we finally decided to stop the recording and go home. In my last weeks in the clinic I have had a lot of frustration about the fact that I am not getting better. The "we can do nothing" statement by a very good doctor is the worst thing there is. Too little is known about certain heart defects. The risks of operating are sometimes too big and the future picture is not clear. This frustrated me, and it still does.

To turn my negative energy into something positive, I decided to organize an action day on a whim. It had to be something that stayed close to me but could be successful. I soon realized it had to be a Ride & Run. Participants could take a route of 5, 15 or 25 kilometers for a registration fee. This could be done on horseback, with a horse carriage or walking / running. Very nice that this was quickly decided ... However, the work only started then. First a date had to be set, which eventually became 2.5 weeks after my third operation. Then a permit had to be applied for, a location had to be arranged, volunteers were arranged and then we also had to search out routes and get this on map, with a description included. In addition, I have set up an action page in collaboration with the heart foundation, where people could donate. All in all it was quite a lot of work. Fortunately I have been offered help from all sides, for which I am very grateful to everyone!

Faster than I expected there was a lot of interest from all sides. I received more registrations than expected and articles appeared in newspapers about the action day. In addition, there have been a number of companies that have heard of my story and the initiative and have donated money to the heart foundation. This was all pretty overwhelming. I received a lot of supportive messages during that period and I also gained a lot of support from the fact that so many people participated.

The action day itself was a great success. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was nice and everything went smoothly. In addition to the fact that people participated with their horse or went for a run or run, a number of people even took the route by mountain bike. In addition to the fixed registration fee, the participants could be sponsored by family members, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, etc. Ultimately, 73 people participated and a total of more than 11 thousand euros was raised! A large check was handed out to representatives of the heart foundation and the press was present. It felt good to have put this down. To be able to do something that will benefit people.

The money I raised was used for research into my own heart defect. This made it extra special for me. In the meantime, a test period with a new type of medicine is running. Who knows, this might help me a little further.

Last year, after the end of the action day, I received a lot of nice reactions and photos and heard from almost all participants and volunteers that they would like to do this again. How fantastic is that ?! This year it was unfortunately not possible because I was abroad for a few months. Next year I definitely hope to be able to organize it again and I hope that you, as a reader, also want to participate or donate. Together we can make the world a little better.

With Love, Daphne