FROM the moment his 15-year-old daughter collapsed at the dinner table last year, Mark Enness and his wife Trish have focused on supporting others going through the same thing.
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Mr Enness’ daughter AJ Enness collapsed from a cardiac arrest in September and had to be airlifted to Westmead Children’s Hospital, she was diagnosed with ‘long QT syndrome’ and was given an ‘internal cardioverter defibrillator’, similar to a pacemaker.
While waiting for the ambulance to arrive Mr Enness performed life-saving CPR on his daughter.
Having experienced first-hand the terror and uncertainty of being a parent in that situation, the Enness family are now the Riverina representatives for Heart Kids NSW a non-for-profit organisation aiming to improve the lives and futures of those affected by childhood heart disease.
Their latest step, with the help of the Victoria Hotel and the newly opened BP petrol station, is a raffle raising money for Heart Kids NSW.
“We have about 30 – 40 kids who we are trying to support in the area,” Mr Enness said.
“We’re raising money to help parents deal with the costs of having a child go through this because they can be huge. We’re also organising carepacks for families who suddenly have their lives turned upside down and have to travel for treatment unexpectedly.
“The carepacks will have things like essential toiletries, a map of the hospital, a list of social workers to talk to and my contact number. Just to help guide people through that horrible stage where the whole world caves in on you.”
Mr Enness said both the Victoria Hotel and BP were quick to offer their help with a raffle to raise money.
“We have done some work to raise money for Heart Kids NSW in the past and we believe it’s a really good charity and so when BP approached us and asked if we would like to get involved with something it was an easy decision,” The Vic’s Terry Green said. The raffle will be drawn at the hotel on Friday, July 15 at 7pm. Tickets are $2 each and prizes include a six-litre bottle of limited edition De Bortoli wine and $300 worth of fuel vouchers.