Georgie Richardson lived a seemingly normal life for 11 months before her death
Steven Richardson and his daughter Georgie
The dad of a “bubbly” little girl who died one month after her first birthday is determined to continue her legacy. Georgie Richardson was born with congenital heart disease, meaning she had a hole in her heart. Her parents, Steven and Rebecca, were told after her birth in September 2015 that they didn’t need to worry, but that their daughter would need open heart surgery before her first birthday.
After living what Steven described as a “normal life” for 11 months, Georgie’s parents were told that their daughter’s heart condition was far more serious than medical professionals first thought.
Georgie was admitted to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she remained for 10 weeks and underwent two major surgeries before the couple and their older daughter, Freya, said goodbye to her in October 2016.
Speaking to the ECHO, Steven, 38, said: “She was bubbly and strong. We were quite lucky really because we never knew how poorly she was. She was always laughing, she was a cheeky little kid.
“We didn’t realise how poorly she actually was and we had a normal year until the operation. I went for a coffee with the surgeon and the way he described was it was like operating on a petal because he heart was so delicate.”
Since Georgie’s death, Steven, a fleet manager living in Worsley, has become a dad again with his partner Becky. The couple welcomed their twin girls, Sophia and Rosie, who are now three years old. Steven said he speaks to them regularly about Georgie.
He said: “I have pictures of Georgie round the house and they always ask where she is and I say ‘she’s in heaven’, and they always say ‘we want to go to heaven and play with her’.
Georgie Richardson died when she was just 13 months old
“We had a dog as well at one point and we say that he’s in heaven too and they ask if he’s in heaven playing with Georgie too. It’s nice that they don’t have that real world attachment to it because they’re so young.
“My mum looks after them a lot and they’re always asking my mum about Georgie because she’s got a necklace with a handprint on.
“They’re always asking to wear it or hold it. It’s nice, they’re just children being children and they don’t have to worry about what they’re saying.”
Now, 10 years after Georgie’s birth, Steven is in the middle of undertaking 10 charity events in order to raise as much money as possible for both Alder Hey and Ronald McDonald House.
Steven said: “Since it’s her tenth birthday I thought it would be good to give something back because you always see stuff on the news about charities needing money and both Alder Hey and Ronald McDonald House were incredible when Georgie was in hospital.
“Because she would have been 10 this year I thought it would be good to get together with different groups of friends and do 10 events throughout the year to raise £10,000 but we’ve done six so far an already on almost £13,000. It’s incredible.”
Steven will be rounding off the 10 events with a golf day and barbeque on the weekend that should have been Georgie’s tenth birthday, on September 12. He’s now hoping he can raise £15,000 in memory of his daughter.
To read more or donate, click here.