By Cathy McAuley, Belfast (Committee member of NITA)

I was born on 23rd June 1973. After 2 days the doctors and nurses realized that there was something wrong with me. I was blue around the mouth and nose and was having trouble breathing. I was then transferred to the Jubilee Hospital in Belfast. I was diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease. My heart had only 2 pumps and my blood was being pumped around my body the wrong way. My parents were told it was unlikely that I would see my 2nd birthday.

However, against the odds I not only reached my second birthday but with the love and devotion of my parents I was able to attend mainstream school and live a somewhat normal childhood. While I was at school I was still in and out of hospital with chest infections and other childhood illnesses. The teachers at both my primary and secondary schools were amazing