For most parents, learning that their children are born with congenital heart disease marks the start of a traumatic journey. Ramona Depares meets two women whose children lead fulfilling lives and learns about Beating Hearts Malta, the organisation that helps make it possible.
Two days after Francene Cauchi gave birth to twin sons Samuel and Benjamin, she was not even given time to hug the tiny new-borns. Instead, they were flown straight to London for heart surgery.
Francene herself followed them some days later, despite being advised that she needed to allow her body more time for recovery before travelling. Her other son, Thomas, at the time three years old, stayed behind in Malta to be taken care of by Francene’s parents.
“It was a terrible time. We were aware that the twins would be born with a heart condition and had been warned that immediate surgery away from Malta may be needed. But nothing prepares you for the reality of giving birth, having your babies taken away from you and having to plan an indefinite time away from home and family,” Francine says.
However, the process would have been infinitely more difficult without the assistance of Beating Hearts Malta, a…
