Mikayla
Townsville
In May 2021, CDH mum, Mikayla, organised the inaugural virtual awareness walk for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.
Mikayla’s daughter, Marley, was born in 2010 with left-side CDH at 36 weeks. Because Marley’s organs were in her chest, her left lung was squashed flat, and the pressure caused ten holes in her heart.
Marley underwent multiple surgeries and overcame many challenges in her first 11 years, with her parents, Mikayla and Jeff, right be her side.
Over the years, Mikayla and Jeff, have also found the time to support our organisation by hosting fantastic community events such as CDH Sunflower Sunday Townsville and barefoot-bowls fundraisers.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Mikayla wanted to do something different to raise CDH awareness in 2021.
She encouraged people to spread awareness by walking around their neighbourhood tracing out the letters CDH on a map using a fitness tracking app. Supporters then shared screenshots of their attempts on social media using #CDHWalk2021
Mikayla also enlisted the help of the community to spread the word.
Among the many supporters, two nurses from the local hospital joined the campaign, and rugby league legend Martin Bella got involved by recording a great awareness video on Facebook with CDH warrior Marley.
Local MP, the Honourable Les Walker of Mundingburra shared his walk on Facebook.
And the Northern Beaches SUNS AFL Club helped out by spelling CDH on their playing field and taking a drone photo.
The inaugural virtual awareness walk for CDH is an excellent example of how we can ask our local communities to help spread the word about Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.
The more awareness we can raise, the more funding we can secure to help fund important research projects for this little known yet deadly condition.
Press play on the video below to watch Mikayla, Jeff, and Marley share their story
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