Don't be half-hearted about this appeal

By Paul Dykes
If you have half a mind to donate funds to the Heart Children New Zealand street appeal tomorrow, spare a thought for Nakita Griffiths - she was born with only half a heart.
Nakita, 7, is a bundle of enthusiastic energy but behind her apparent wellness lies an ongoing battle to get her heart functioning properly.
It's likely to be her life's work, says her mother Angela Griffiths, who looks forward philosophically to the day when medical advances can offer her daughter a full cure.
Mrs Griffiths is taking Nakita out of Omanu Primary School tomorrow to help with the buckets and balloons at the Super Hero street appeal, which starts in downtown Tauranga at 12.30pm.
The other main fundraising event for the self-funded support group is at the BBQ Factory at 3.30pm, where sponsored teams will see who can sit the longest in a spa bath filled with ice.
The ice bath simulates the procedure used during open-heart surgery to slow down the child patient's bodily functions.
Nakita was last at Starship hospital in Auckland in 2004, staying seven weeks while surgeons tried to reconstruct her heart.
"I missed my friends from kindy but there was a good doctor lady," Nakita recalls.
She loves being part of Zipper Kids, an online club for heart children, named after the telltale scar running up the centre of their chests. In about three years' time, she goes back to let doctors work on her damaged heart valve. The average heart operation on a child lasts five hours.
"Heart Children is a big part of our lives now," says her mum.
"It's helped us appreciate life a lot more and in a different way."
She says the group funds Nakita's medical bracelet and paid for a special machine that tests her blood each week, saving her a trip to the hospital.
"Research will progress as she ages and she could get further heart reconstruction."
Nicki Compton, the chair of the Tauranga Heart Children branch - one of 23 in the country - is also the mother of a heart child, James Compton, aged 6.
"James was born with a large hole in his heart," she says.
"He also had no connection between his heart and lungs."
Three lots of open-heart surgery later, he enjoys as normal a life as possible. "Surgery will be ongoing for the rest of his life," Mrs Compton says wryly.
Like Mrs Griffiths, she lives near Bayfair. The families met through their children's heart problems, an association that eventually led to the formation of the local branch.
"This is our major fundraising effort tomorrow. It's our main source of funds."
Four other ways to help: Text HEART to 469 to donate $3; phone 0900Heart to donate $20; visit www.heartchildren.co.nz; or make a deposit at any Bank of New Zealand.