At Mash + Mint, we believe that home is more than just four walls, it’s where love, care, and community thrive. That’s why we feel incredibly honoured to support a cause that brings that very spirit to families in their most vulnerable moments. Today, we’d like to share the moving story of Katharine, and the vital role that Heartbeat House, part of the Wessex Heartbeat charity, has played in helping her family through a lifetime of challenges.
Katharine's story: Living with Congenital Heart Disease
Katharine is in her 30s and living with complex congenital heart and lung conditions that have required numerous medical interventions, including two open heart surgeries.
Despite these challenges, she pursued her dreams with fierce determination: completing a master’s degree, building a career, and enjoying a full and vibrant life.
But in 2022, everything changed.
After contracting COVID-19 during her 30th birthday celebrations, Katharine’s heart and lung function declined rapidly. She is now oxygen-dependent and takes a complex regime of medications. Even more heartbreakingly, she has been told that she is not viable for heart and lung transplant.
Despite her much reduced mobility, and extreme breathlessness and fatigue (likened by her consultant to the altitude sickness you would experience by being constantly at the top of Everest) Katharine continues to work for a couple of hours each day, maintaining a brave face and a sense of humour that shines through on her Instagram page, @the.leaky.valve. It’s a space where she shares the realities of life with heart and lung failure often with wit, honesty, and courage. We invite you to take a moment to visit her page.
The Role of Heartbeat House: A Home away from Home
Katharine’s ongoing care, predominantly at Oxford Heart Centre, is far from home, and she often has to travel even further afield to the Wessex Cardiac Unit in Southampton, three hours from where she and her family live. Long hospital stays, last-minute admissions, and complex procedures are all part of the journey. For her mother Linda and sister Hannah, being there to support Katharine means living away from home for extended periods, navigating the emotional, physical, and financial toll of caregiving.
That’s where Heartbeat House has stepped in.
Run by the registered charity Wessex Heartbeat, Heartbeat House provides accommodation just minutes from the cardiac unit. More than just a place to sleep, it’s a sanctuary, a space where families can cook, rest, and connect with others going through similar experiences. It offers a sense of normality in an otherwise overwhelming time.
Funded entirely by donations, Heartbeat House asks only for a small key deposit from guests. Everything else is supported by the generosity of people like you. Linda, Katharine’s mum, describes it as a “warm hug of a house” and sharing her story with us, it’s easy to see why.
Why Wessex Heartbeat Matters
Wessex Heartbeat is far more than just Heartbeat House. The charity plays a crucial role in supporting the Wessex Cardiac Centre, which treats over 20,000 heart patients annually. Their work helps ensure that patients of all ages, from newborns to adults, receive the best possible cardiac care through:
- Specialist medical equipment
- State-of-the-art facilities
- Support for families and hospital staff
- Health education programmes
Your support helps fund vital infrastructure and services that the NHS alone cannot always provide.
Learn more about Wessex Heartbeat
How you can help
Mash + Mint is proud to support this cause by donating prizes for a fundraising event on Saturday 31st May held at Fitness Blueprint in Aylesbury. Katharine’s sister Hannah is a PT trainer at Fitness Blueprint, she participated in the ‘Engine Race’ organised to raise money for Wessex Heartbeat. Funds raised will help ensure that families like Katharine’s continue to receive the care and support they so desperately need.
Linda - Katharine's mum said, "We’re so grateful to have been able to have stayed at Heartbeat House when Katharine has been undergoing long and complex procedures at Southampton. It’s enabled us to have a bit of normality at times of heightened stress, and not having to worry about the cost of hotels, or eating out when that’s the last thing you want to do, on top of everything else allows us to focus on Katharine. Also, it’s strangely comforting to hear the stories of others in similar positions and know you’re not the only ones in this strange normality!
The Engine Race at Fitness Blueprint was a huge success, raising in excess of £3,500 for Wessex Heartbeat. We are extremely grateful to Mash + Mint for sharing our story, and for their generous donations to our fundraising events.
I hope none of the people reading this need to experience all that Heartbeat House has to offer, but if you do, you could not be in a better place from which to support your loved one. Instead, our family thanks you for your contributions that will help Heartbeat House continue to provide sanctuary for the relatives of patients undergoing surgery and treatment at Southampton for chronic and acute heart conditions”
The incredible work of organisations like Wessex Heartbeat need all the support they can get. Please consider supporting this cause, sharing Katharine’s story, or simply taking the time to learn more about congenital heart disease and the families affected by it.
Together, we can help keep Heartbeat House open, welcoming, and ready to support the next family who needs it.
We invite you to donate, no matter how small, via the JustGiving page set up by Katharine's mum, Linda.
Click here to donate
Or scan the QR code below.
