Our daughter Laura, aged six, had open heart surgery last December to repair a narrowed valve and a hole in the heart. We received a call from the hospital one Friday to say that Laura’s operation was due the following Tuesday – just four days notice! Luckily, we had already requested some information from the Children’s Heart Federation on her condition and what treatment would involve. In addition, they also sent us some lovely children’s books to help prepare Laura for the surgery.

That weekend, we sat down with Laura and read the stories together – they helped to explain what was going to happen to her and made it all seem so ‘natural’. Laura really identified with the characters in the books. Reading the stories helped her to realise that other children have heart operations too – this was important, as she had not met any other children in the same situation as her. The books also really helped to prepare her for what was going to happen when we went to hospital.

Since Laura’s operation, she has re-visited the books by herself – and is now able to read her favourite one “Rosie goes Red, Violet goes Blue” all by herself. I think the stories were also useful when she went back to school following her operation. They helped her to explain and answer/deal with her school friends’ natural curiosity about what she went through. She has now put them up on her bookshelf and I know that, as she gets older, she will continue to read and enjoy them.

The books helped us no end – without them, I do not think that we could have explained everything to Laura in a language appropriate for her age. I think they are invaluable for children, and parents! Laura is doing great since her operation – she now has loads more energy and her confidence is growing all the time.