THE FAMILY of a 10-year-boy who was born with half a heart is fundraising to help him fulfil his bucket list wishes.
Nicholas Smith, from Weston-super-Mare, was born with several heart conditions and was given a life expectancy of 13 years.
Nicholas, who is now ten, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which meant the left side of his heart is underdeveloped.
The family were then told Nicholas would not make it to his teenage years.
Despite this, Nicholas plays football and baseball, and “doesn’t let his life limiting condition stop him,” his mum Annalaura said.
“He was born with quite a few heart conditions,” she said.
“We were told he was not going to be born alive, but he was born, and he did all the surgeries and was given a ten percent chance of surviving.”
“He couldn’t have a heart transplant because unfortunately he was missing the other half of the heart that is needed,” his mother explained.
Nicholas would like to visit a football stadium in Madrid, would like to go to Germany, and see the Colosseum in Rome.
“He is a normal little child,” his mother said.
“He plays football, and his team knows about his condition; he also plays baseball.
“He is now slowing down, and he’s not been able to do as much as he wanted to,” she said.
“He understands his condition and knows everything.
“He is starting to realise that it’s getting to that point, but we want to try and help him fulfil his wishes.”
The online fundraiser to help Nicholas and his family can be found here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-nicholas-fulfil-his-bucket-list?cdn-cache=0
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