Family preparing for son to have open-heart surgery – Southend Standard

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy is raising cash for the doctors set to perform open-heart surgery on his brother.

Jack Dickenson, 11, from Eastwood, will undergo the operation to have a replacement aortic valve for his heart at the Royal Brompton Hospital in January.

On hearing the news brother Joseph decided to raise hundreds of pounds for the hospital.

Mum Nicola Lennox, 33, explained Jack was born with a narrowing of the major heart valve.

She said: He was born with mild aortic valve sclerosis and when he was three-years-old he had a stent put into the valve.

Then this September we found out it is leaking.

He will be having the operation in January and it will take about eight hours. He will need to have two months off school afterwards.

His health has deteriorated in recent times and he has had to give up his football which he loves so much and people say hes lost his sparkle a bit.

This Sunday he will play his last football game.

But after the operation he will be like a new boy.

He will be off school for about two months and has just started senior school at Eastwood Academy. The school has been amazing.

He will be on hospital for about ten days and then the school will be sending over work for him to be doing at home.

Jacks younger brother Joseph told his parents he wanted to help support his brother and the hospital.

He held a cake sale at his Edward Hall Primary School to raise 400.

Ms Lennox said: Joseph said to me he wanted to help and suggested a cake sale.

It went from there and he raised the cash in about one and a half hours.

Its amazing and we are so proud of him for his efforts.

The school was also great and on board and the hospital sent Joseph stickers to hand out at the cake sale.

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Family preparing for son to have open-heart surgery - Southend Standard