Becky was always going to be something of a star in her close-knit family. But the way she entered this world – and her heroic fight to survive those early months – made her star shine even brighter.

The youngest of five children, Becky was born with more than her share of challenges. It was at her 20-week scan that mum, Rolinka and dad, Jan learned that their fifth child had a heart condition known as Atrio Ventricular Septal Defect. Doctors explained that the muscle inside her little 20-week-old heart had a hole in it. And that her heart valves were not developing as they should.

Doctors prepared them for what lay ahead: their baby would require open-heart surgery in her first three to four months after birth. Two days after receiving that devastating news, Rolinka and Jan learned their unborn child also had Down Syndrome.

Before she was 10 months old, little Becky would undergo three open-heart surgeries and battle two serious infections. She almost died five times before her first birthday.

But thanks to generous Heart Foundation donors, Becky has not just survived – she’s thriving, according to her dad.

“She’s as happy as Larry,” Jan says of his now nine-year-old daughter.

“The research funded by the Heart Foundation has had a huge impact on improving cardiac surgery. The kind of life-saving surgery our Becky underwent as a newborn. I have no doubt that, without these research advancements, Becky would not have survived”