Carnival semes come in all shapes and sizes, but the emblem of Diane van Son (35) from Elshout is different than usual. With the ‘my heart was conceived by her, you’ emblem, which can be spelled on the keel, money is collected for children with a heart defect. What started as a little something for friends and family, now takes serious forms: everyone wants to have the emblem.
Bente, the now two -year -old daughter of Diane, was born with a heart defect and underwent a open heart surgery when she was 10 months old. Two years later she is doing well, but her mother Diane van Son (35) knows that not all children are lucky. During carnival in Oeteldonk the idea for the emblem ‘my heart is right through you’, with which she collects money for children with a heart defect.
When Diane was twenty weeks pregnant with her daughter Bente, doctors saw on the ultrasound that something was wrong with her heart. That seemed nothing serious at the time. But after birth, doctors discovered a big gap in the heart of Bente. “We were very shocked. Fortunately I knew what it meant, because I am a doctor. But it remained scary,” says Diane.
“In the first instance, the doctors thought that an operation was only necessary if Bente were four years or older. But she was often sick, quickly tired and sweated a lot. With a check it turned out to be really not going well. ”
Bente came on the waiting list and was operated on within a month. “That was exciting, because open heart surgery is not without risks. The moment we had to take her to the operating room and leave it behind, that’s the hardest thing you have to do as a parent. I am still becoming emotional, “says Diane with tears in her eyes.
“You also speak parents where things are not going well.”
In the meantime, two -year -old Bente is doing well, but her mother realizes that she has been very lucky. “At that time you also speak to parents of children with a heart defect with whom things are not going well,” says Diane.
Six months after the operation of her daughter, Diane decided to do something for the children and parents who experience the same thing. “That idea arose during the eleventh of the eleventh in Oeteldonk two years ago. Then I was talking with my sister and girlfriends about the operation that was just half a year, “she says. “Coincidentally, there were other people in Den Bosch who sold something for charity. That’s how we came up with the idea of designing and selling an emblem for children with a heart defect. ”
“More and more children with a heart condition can cure.”
Last summer, together with her two sisters and a friend, Diane worked hard on the design. On the emblem is a frog with a heart -shaped balloon in his hand. With the text ‘My heart beats by you’. “With that we want to show that more and more children with a heart condition can cure and continue to live,” explains Diane. The proceeds go to Stichting Hartekind, which finances research and care to offer them better treatments.
Diane ordered the first four hundred emblems just before the eleventh of the eleventh last year. In no time Everything was sold to friends, family and acquaintances. “People like to have something unique on their coats during carnival. But most buy the emblem mainly because the money goes to charity. ”
In the meantime they have already sold more than a thousand emblems and the next charge has been ordered. Diane will go to Oeteldonk again in the coming carnival to celebrate, but also to sell emblems. “The great thing about such an action is that you also speak to other parents with a child with a heart defect. This way you have recognition and connection.”
The emblem is for sale at the drugstore in Drunen and the greengrocer in Elshout. Ordering online can be done via [email protected] or via Instagram.