The partner of a Bristol City fan is desperately trying to raise £18,000 to fund surgery for him after she came home to find him having a heart attack.
Mum Paisley Flynn returned from work one day in August 2018 to find partner Dane Higgs curled up on the sofa in pain.
She described the experience as "very scary".
Dane, 31, of Weston-super-Mare, initially thought the pain he was experiencing was a pulled muscle.
But the Robins fan was soon told he had suffered a heart attack, before being informed he has a hole in his heart.
Paisley, 28, is now aiming to raise £18,000 to fund keyhole surgery that is not available through the NHS.
The couple, who have two children together, have managed to raise around £2,000 through events, including a cake sale at their son's football club.
But now she has set up a fundraising page in the hopes of reaching the full amount.
Co-op duty manager Paisley told Bristol Live that her partner requires a PFO closure performed on his heart, but the surgery is only available privately.
She said: “It was just a complete shock because at the time he had the heart attack he was 29 years old. You don’t expect a heart attack in younger people and he had never any illnesses in his life.”
In a bid to gather the money required for £18,000 treatment at Spire Bristol Hospital, Paisley has set up a fundraising page for donations.
Explaining her partner’s diagnosis, Paisley said: “Apparently holes in the heart are common but you wouldn’t know about it unless you were tested for it. He’s never had any symptoms or anything.”
To visit the fundraising page, you can click here .
For the latest news in and around Bristol, check back on Bristol Live's homepage .
