Supporting others is something that the Digital Blonde team is extremely passionate about and each year we choose a charity that, as a group, we’d like to support for the year ahead. It’s fair to say the whole team was extremely shocked when exactly one year ago Nicola’s husband had a heart attack at just 35 years old. At a doctors appointment they were informed that due to Andy’s condition it was extremely like that this would happen again in the next few years. They were also advised it was important to educate their young daughters on the risks they face, as it is believed to be hereditary.

Many of you will know by now that Nicola is passionate about preventing others face what she has and is raising money for the British Heart Foundation’s Mending Broken Hearts Appeal. This is the charity that, as a company, we have chosen to support during 2016. Our first activity is sponsoring the Rock up in Red Ball which Nicola is organising and it’s been great to see her put her amazing marketing and event skills to the test. It’s really set to be an incredible night and we will feel proud to sponsor the event on the night. So for today’s blog Nicola shares some of her story…..

“I can’t believe it’s been one year since Andy had a heart attack and we found out he had Coronary Heart Disease. The memories of that night and fear of what lies ahead go through my mind pretty much every single day. However six months ago I decided to turn what’s been a frightening situation into something positive and set about on a rather crazy journey to organise a ball in Northallerton.

The event is just 7 weeks away and I do keep wondering what on earth I was thinking but I’ve got a (secret) amount in my head of what I’d love to raise for a charity that has helped, and will continue to help, so many people reading this in some way. It’s that figure which keeps me going when I literally haven’t slept for ball things running round my head or have sat up till midnight updating my spreadsheet.

Life hasn’t been the same since that day. Whether it’s the side effects of the tablets, the fear that goes through my mind if I can’t get hold of Andy or me simply panicking whether we have the GTN spray with us…. just in case. These are small changes to our lives we couldn’t have predicted 365 days ago. But despite this, we also now live life to the full, enjoy every single second together, laugh at the smallest things and spend quality time with our little girls whenever we can.

The support over the last year has been overwhelming. I’ve cried and laughed with some of the best friends a girl could have at our monthly ball planning meetings. This event wouldn’t be possible without every single person who has helped in some way, whether that’s attending a meeting, commenting on a post, selling raffle tickets or simply asking how things are going. It’s all part of the huge effort which has gone into making what was a random idea I had at a rehabilitation appointment to a reality in just a few weeks’ time.

I am so grateful to the full Digital Blonde team for getting behind my plans and choosing British Heart Foundation as our 2016 charity. Karen and I are planning on running a 10k later in the year so I’m going to have to dig out my running shoes once again. We’ll let you know when we’ve chosen our event in case you fancy joining us.

We’ve got a donation page set up so if you are able to help us by donating to the British Heart Foundation’s Mending Broken Hearts Appeal it will help us to make a real difference. You can either donate online https://www.justgiving.com/rockupinredball/ or text the RRED79 and the amount you want to donate (e.g. £20) to 70070. Thank you for all your support and taking the time to follow our journey.