Community
25 September, 2022
Local heart warrior Lulu
CAIRNS parents, Aleece and Carlos Henriques, discovered their daughter Lulu had a heart defect at their prenatal scan at 15 weeks.
They also found that Aleece was carrying twins – Lulu has a twin sister, Frankie. Lulu was diagnosed with AV canal defect, large OP and a large Ventricular septal defect (VSD). VSD is the most common type of congenital heart defect.
In the first four months of Lulu’s life, she had a PA band tightened as it wasn’t working. Finally, at nine months old, the band was removed, and the Glenn shunt procedure was done.
Her most recent surgery was the fistula procedure in her right arm to increase oxygen levels.
Aleece and Carlos live in Cairns and have a large family with three older children, Zion (18), Violet (12) and Hazel (11), as well as Lulu’s twin, Frankie (3).
Lulu’s condition has been a massive change for the whole family as they have had to spend time away from their other children to treat Lulu at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
“The girls get quite worried whenever we say that we’re going to the hospital as the last few trips have scared them, and Frankie is a bit older now and has more of an understanding of what’s going on,” Aleece said.
Lulu’s journey with CHD has also taken its toll on the family financially, with dad Carlos taking a lot of time off work.
“As we run two households at times, it did put a big hole in our finances,” Aleece said.
“Thank God for Ronald McDonald’s house, as I couldn’t imagine what situation we would be in without them.
“The meals on the ward from HeartKids have also been a massive help as sometimes we would get stuck in the room at the hospital,” she said.
Lulu is an example of resilience and a strong young girl who loves her sisters. She blows her family away with what she has gone through, and she still has a smile. Lulu is a heart warrior; she was told she would not survive before mum Aleece held her in her arms, and now she is three and fighting the odds.
The Henriques family is encouraging all Queenslanders to register for the annual HeartKids Two Feet & A Heartbeat charity walks on Sunday, October 16, to help raise funds for kids living with congenital heart disease (CHD).
A memorial service will pay tribute to Heart Angels, followed by a 4km or 8km walk.
The walk is an opportunity for HeartKids supporters, friends and families to come together in support of the eight Australian babies who are born with congenital heart disease each day and honour our Heart Angels and all in our HeartKids community.
For full event details, visit: https://www.twofeetheartbeat.org.au/
