here - Little Hearts Matter
here - Little Hearts Matter
here - Little Hearts Matter
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Relaxing with my mates,grabbing a bite to eat,having a laugh - anormal Saturday, right?That's what I thought when my mateSam asked me if I wanted to go tothe '<strong>Little</strong> <strong>Hearts</strong> <strong>Matter</strong>' Open Day inWest Bromwich: a chance to meetnew people and have some laid-backfun. I entered the doors to the aweinspiringBethel Convention Centre,not knowing that I would leave withorange hands and a piece ofcardboard that looked like HarryPotter.It's a long story.ay and AGMTo kick off the morning, we set upan ice-breaking session. I wasexpecting a circle of intimidatingeyes staring down every person whowas forced to stand up and nervouslymutter, "H...h...hi my name is... andI'm f...f...from..."; instead we wereseparated into age groups and askedto reassemble a butternut squash.Yes, it's exactly what you heard.Through this, I met many new peoplein a fun way, even though my agegroup (the 15-18) lost to the youngestage group (10-12) who weremysteriously quick at repairingvegetables!The groups werebrought together totalk about the problems they facewith their heart conditions and how'<strong>Little</strong> <strong>Hearts</strong> <strong>Matter</strong>' could help. Myeyes were truly opened to the day-todayproblems of coping with activitiesI would find menial, such as exercise(light exercise anyway!), whichbecame a struggle with a heartcondition. But these difficulties werehugely outweighed by how supportivethe group was with each problem,telling their previous experienceswith the problems and howthey themselves got throughthose situations.While the younger membersof the group prepared apuppet show to entertaintrustees and parents, my age groupformed the Youth Council to discusswhat could be done to improve thecharity. Within five minutes, the YouthCouncil had prepared a pitch to theHead Trustee, with their plans for thefuture and how to finance them. Tosee real decisions being made bypeople my age was incredible! Eventhe Head Trustee was blown away byhow well thought out the pitch hadbeen. My only contribution was ahandshake to the Head Trustee -unfortunately this was when I realisedmy hands were still covered inbutternut squash.The Youth Council then met up withcardiologists and psychologists for arevealing question and answersession. It was fantastic to seepeople my own age not only dealingwith medical issues so seriously butalso asking some thought provokingquestions and taking in every wordfrom the professionals' mouths.Astounding to think that kids asmature as medical experts werehelping put on a puppet show fiveminutes later! Each age grouppresented an everyday issue in theform of puppet theatre, ranging fromPunch and Judy at school to the castof 'In The Night Garden' going tohospital for the first time. Anyonewho missed the group of 15 -18 yearolds' puppet production of 'HarryPotter and the Half Prince' trulymissed out!So a regular Saturday? Oh no,much better! The people I met at theOpen Day had the biggest hearts inthe world. I'm not going to forgetthem or how they helped each otherout with warm advice and brilliantsmiles, or how they knew exactlywhat they needed and how to givehelp to every child out t<strong>here</strong> with aheart condition, or how they hadjoyous, friendly fun. And I'll neverforget the sweet, sweet smell ofbutternut squash.17