Chris Wallace

Chris Wallace is married to Emma, and they have three children:  Poppy (age 7); and twin boys, Charlie and Zach (age 4). They live in the small fishing town of Kilkeel in sunny Northern Ireland.

Emma is a high school teacher (11-16y), and Chris is a director in his family businesses.

Their son Charlie was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy when he was only 6 months old. He was in severe heart failure and as a result was heavily medicated. At 11 months of age, Charlie deteriorated and was rushed to PICU. The outcome was that Charlie had Midaortic Syndrome and was in kidney failure; it then transpired this is what had caused the damage to his heart. Due to the small population of Northern Ireland, the regional childrens’ hospital had no experience of treating a child with pRVH and as a result they recommended  Charlie be Transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London where his care was (and continues to be managed).

Please see a press release by GOSH for further information on Charlies journey and his Bilateral Auto Kidney Transplant and Aortic Graft: World Kidney Day: Charlie’s story | Great Ormond Street Hospital (gosh.nhs.uk).

As parents from a small nation, we are very aware of how rare and severe pRVH is. As a family we want to share our experiences to try and help others who may experience a similar situation.  We are aware that there is limited information available on this condition.