Sam ~ living with Stage 3 Heart Failure

As many of our friends will know, Sam Leppard, my brother is in stage 3 heart failure, and suffers from many health complications, many of which add to his daily struggle and cause him chronic pain. Sam was born with Congenital Heart Disease. He had his first open heart surgery at 10months old and then again at 12yrs and many procedures and issues since. Some include the closing of holes in his heart, a large stent put in to relieve the pressure his heart was putting on his liver - he has since been diagnosed with Liver Cirrhosis, he’s had significant heart rhythm disturbances, he’s had a testicle removed - which has left him with chronic scrotum pain, Sam has also battled and beaten Endocarditis 4 times and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure 3 years ago.

Despite Sam and Beck’s very positive and inspiring outlook on life (and believe me, time spent with this couple touches your life in the most beautiful of ways), many aspects of their daily life is so hard and even though they have support from friends and family, they are currently at a stage where it's getting so hard and overwhelming.

Sam has been working 3 days a week to supplement the families income but now he will be limited to just 15hrs (when he can work). He desperately wishes he could provide more for his family and when he is unable to work, he doesn’t get paid. We can only imagine how that must feel. This puts a lot of pressure on Beck who as most of you will know, is a self employed and talented hairdresser. She is the main income earner and is working 3 days a week. This is all she is able to manage since she has a house to run, a husband that is unwell, 5yr old Thea and 7mth old Bessie to care for.

On 13th May 2019, Sam went to hospital which is when they noticed that his heart was pausing (up to 10 times a day). He had a pacemaker implanted last Friday. We are all hoping that in the long run this to be a positive thing and will give Sam a better quality of life. But this procedure has again, taken him out of work and his recovery is slow.

So financially, this is now putting Sam and Beck into greater stress which is where I am hoping that along with the family, others who know Sam and Becks (& anyone else who is moved by their current situation), will be able to help them through this tricky patch right now. If you know Sam and Becks, they are the most generous people and this page is not something they were overly comfortable about but they acknowledge they are in a place where they are grateful for help. It’s humbling being on the receiving end of help, but I’m sure we’ll all agree, these guys have enough on their plate and if we can all alleviate some of their stress right now, we jump at the chance.