When her 2-year-old son Presley was informed of his life-threatening heart condition, Jessica Wright recalls not being able to move and felt like the world had “ended.”
Have a Heart Gala Ball Jess Wright hosted
Jessica Wright and her husband William Lee-Kemp felt like the stars had aligned when they became parents to their beautiful baby boy Presley in May 2022, with Jessica describing her newborn as “everything and more”. Sadly, their joy turned to heartache less than two years later when they discovered that Presley was suffering from a rare heart condition which will require him to undergo open heart surgery.
“The world just stopped moving for me,” says Jessica, recalling the devastating moment she was told Presley has a Bicuspid Aortic Valve, a congenital heart disease which affects one per cent of people. Sitting down for an exclusive interview with OK! – just days ahead of hosting her first Have A Heart Gala, to raise money for children’s cardiac and respiratory care charity The Brompton Fountain – it’s clear the last 12 months have taken their toll.
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“It’s been tough”, she says, before talking us through Presley’s devastating diagnosis. We took him for a routine appointment just before his second birthday when the doctors discovered a heart murmur. They said it was likely to be nothing to worry about, and common in a lot of children, but to get it checked anyway”.
Their worst fears were confirmed about a month later, Jessica continues with a follow-up appointment. “We just sat there and you could see from the doctor’s face that he was about to tell us something really big and life-changing.
The words “open heart surgery” came out of his mouth after I “just dreaded what was going to come out of his mouth.” It was extremely tough and something that we’re still taking our time to get over and used to – I’m not sure we ever will. I can’t help but think, “I’m going to fall on the floor,” as I recall thinking as I sat between my mother and my husband. I couldn’t even kind of hold myself up. “
The thought of open heart surgery is every parent’s worst nightmare, and something Jessica, 39, admits is still tough for her to talk about. Doctors have informed the family that replacement valves for Presley’s heart will be necessary, but Jessica says it’s a waiting game to find out when the procedure will be.
Presley’s condition, a Bicuspid Aortic Valve, means that his aortic valve, which regulates blood flow, has only two leaflets instead of the three regular hearts have. Untreated, it can result in complications like heart failure and infections.
” It’s a case of waiting until the point where we know that his heart valves need to be replaced, “says Jessica”. In essence, it can occur at any time.
“We’ve been told that we’ll be lucky if he gets to the age of 10 without needing it, which was the biggest blow for us, because some people can get to their 50s and not have one until then. But because of where his heart is right now, Presley needs it more quickly, she says, grinning with a heavy sigh.
This news means that the family are constantly on edge, something which Jessica says has caused her to panic at the first sign of illness in Presley, who turns three next month. We must hope and pray that his upcoming tenth birthday is closer to his current age because if it comes sooner, he will need to have it re-implanted a few years later. If it’s later, the replacement can last longer because they can put one in that’s big enough”. Every fever he gets, every breath he takes wrong, whatever it may be, you panic, Jessica continues. But it is what it is”.
Presley is currently receiving checks every 12 weeks that include an ECG and scans of his heart to make sure he doesn’t need surgery. “We supply him with lollipops or a dairy-free cupcake during it”, laughs Jessica, as she discusses her attempts to distract Presley during the appointments. “
She acknowledges that it’s still difficult, even though the family is now used to regular medical visits. He doesn’t love it, but it’s almost like he gets it now. Every time we travel, we just apologise to God and pray that our doctor will say, “At the moment, we’re all okay.” I wish I could take it away from him and for me to have it instead. But he is a strong infant.
Echoing Jessica’s sentiments, William says”, The week before we go for the check up is when we start worrying, then after the check up, we can breathe again and it’s a relief that everything is OK. Then it’s like back to the beginning before the next appointment, so it’s a constant worry up and down. “
When Jessica and businessman William tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in Mallorca in 2021, they had no idea what awaited them as parents. But as we chat, the TV star praises William for his constant support.
We truly support one another. I definitely break down a lot more than Will, but I feel like that’s because women generally tend to be slightly more emotional. Both of us have suffered a lot as a result. To be honest, we can barely say the words out loud without… I’m not sure. We don’t really like talking about it, but then sometimes I just feel like I have to and it’s like the elephant in the room. After a brief pause, she admits, “We’re still coming to terms with it.”
William, who Jessica describes as the ‘ best daddy ‘ to Presley, confirms”, We really lean on each other and support each other, of course we do. “
Presley is a complete “showman,” according to Jessica, which comes as no surprise given his famous family.
” He’s just the most incredible little boy and he’s got so much character, “beams Jessica”. He continues to act in the funny ways that he does. He is truly, really funny. He’s a complete actor, he’s definitely gonna be on the stage, I think. He’s up there grabbing the microphone and playing some music and performing a show. Presley is a really sweet boy as well, very sensitive, very caring and just sweet. “
Would Jessica and William be willing to have any more children if they were obviously loving parents? Possibly. Although this has been a difficult road so far, “she says” might be true.
In the meantime, Presley has plenty of cousins to play with in Jessica’s tight-knit family. Jessica’s younger brother, Ebbsfleet United footballer Josh also has two sons; Josh. Jr and Dustin. While her brother Mark and his wife Michelle Keegan welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Palma, in March.
” Presley is so close to his cousins Josh and Dustin, and, obviously, now we’ve got Palma who is going to fit right in. She is adorable! They all absolutely love spending time with each other and Palma is an angel. She is sweet, beautiful, and adorable. The boys love her and are very gentle with her, “says Jessica, adding that she was” excited “to become an auntie again.
And has she been there to counsel parents like Michelle and Mark? Assuring us he’s a natural, she says”, It’s lovely seeing]Mark and Michelle] as parents, I knew they would be incredible parents and they are. There is always room for improvement when you have babies because we’re always with each other regardless and we tell each other little things. It’s all such new territory. “
It should come as no surprise that many members of the Wright clan, including her parents Carol and “Big” Mark and her younger sister Natalya, attended Jessica and William’s Have A Heart gala last Thursday night.
And showing it’s not only been an emotional time for Jessica, but for the whole family, brother Mark got teary as he took to the stage to give a heartfelt speech. After watching a short film about the work The Brompton Fountain do, Presley appeared in, Mark was understandably moved.
” When it’s that close to home, it just…sorry, it just hurts, “said Mark as he struggled to get through the sentence”. My sister is a remarkable woman, despite the fact that I don’t tell her frequently. I am biased, of course, but I think we can all agree that her and her husband Will’s strength, honesty and the love they show their son is nothing short of remarkable.
The new dad turned his back on the stage to keep the emotions at bay, with his wife Michelle cheering him as he continued, “And to my nephew, you’re the bravest little boy I know.”
Explaining the inspiration behind the event at The Savoy hotel in London, which saw famous faces including Gemma Collins, Pete Wicks and Vicky Pattison in attendance, Jessica says, “The minute that we found out about Presley’s heart condition, I wanted to do something to help the charity that supports the hospital that he’s at.”
She continued, “It just felt right for me to use my platform as much as I can and do everything I can because The Brompton Fountain is a really, really small charity.” This kind of event is really impactful and it raises awareness, it’s something we want to do every year”.
Pete Wicks tells us during the gala that he couldn’t be prouder of his former co-star and friend that Jessica has a lot of support behind her. “What Jess is doing tonight is amazing and what she’s doing for this charity is amazing. We’ve known each other for more than ten years, which is a long time! But she’s one of the good ones, I always knew she’d be an amazing mum, even before she had Presley”.
Alongside Pete sat James Argent, who has been a longtime friend of the family and said he ‘wouldn’t miss’ the event for the world. While Britain’s Got Talent star Sydnie Christmas, who gave a stunning performance, said she was ‘honoured’ to be invited along by Jessica.
Jessica, who looked stunning in a white gown in a white gown, delivered an emotional and heartfelt speech in the middle of all the glamour of the evening, which was only covered by OK!
“It’s a lot of pressure – I’ve never done something like this before apart from my wedding, and we actually had 100 fewer people at our wedding! Talking about something that is so important to us will be very difficult because it is so personal. But I want to get the message across and do the best I can for the evening”.
Jessica addressed the audience beautifully and thanked the charity for their unwavering support, giving special thanks to Trudy Nickels, The Brompton Fountain’s CEO.
Despite it being a tough topic to talk about so openly, Jessica says her goal is to keep raising awareness of the condition and to the charities who can support families.
She claims that being open about Presley’s health has prevented her mind from spiraling, saying, “When we found out, I was almost desperate to talk about it on social media because I wanted to know how common this is and how we were going to get through it. But I needed to come to terms with it in my head before I did that because I knew it’d be very overwhelming.
“But then I did reach out, and I believe it was about three months after his diagnosis, and I was shocked at how quickly things turned out. I’ve had thousands and thousands of messages about it from warrior parents welcoming me to the heart community and sending me messages of support and hearing about children who have been through it at a lot younger age than Presley. It has been incredible.
When I started realising it was something that does happen to other people it makes you feel like you’re not alone. I was reminded that if I pity God, he will be fine in the end.
See www.thebromptonfountain.org.uk for more.
Source: Mirror
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