Raising funds to buy a defibrillator for Cape Clear Primary School will not only give the Mackay family peace of mind, but the whole community.
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Nicole and Deon Mackay's eldest child Shelby-Anne, 7, was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart deformity when she was six months old, and last year underwent more than nine hours of open heart surgery.
Shelby-Anne stopped breathing three times in her first five weeks of life and had to be resuscitated, but doctors said she would grow out of it. Then she was diagnosed with dairy intolerance but the problems, and trips to the hospital emergency department, continued.
After many ED visits it was finally a Royal Children's Hospital paediatrician who listened to Shelby-Anne's heart and recognised a problem.
"She listened to her heart for about half an hour, and I knew something was wrong. We were sent for an x-ray and within minutes we were called in to her office and told Shelby-Anne's heart was on the wrong side," Ms Mackay said.
"I burst in to tears ... I always knew something was not right."
Shelby-Anne was diagnosed with scimitar syndrome, a condition in which the pulmonary vein from the heart fails to connect to the right lung, instead doubling up under her diaphragm and connecting back in to the heart.
"It causes extra blood flow to heart, and her right lung never developed properly," Ms Mackay said.
After staying in hospital for a few days the family were discharged and began regular visits to a cardiologist, knowing that Shelby-Anne would likely need surgery around school age.
"She was okay when she was younger, but when she got to about five her energy levels started to drop and the specialists decided it was getting too much for her heart," Ms Mackay said.
During the surgery Shelby-Anne was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine as surgeons "replumbed" her heart.
"She was healing quite well after surgery but, two days later, she went grey and the next thing she was surrounded by 10 doctors and nurses trying to stabilise her again. She never went in to complete arrest but it was very full on."
And while she has recovered well physically, Shelby-Anne has suffered anxiety since the surgery and "retreated back in to herself a lot" according to her mum.
The family also had a brief scare when son Oliver, now 5, was born and his heart rate dropped dangerously low, but he recovered and has no ongoing issues.
For peace of mind, Ms Mackay has decided to raise money to buy a defibrillator for Cape Clear Primary School where Shelby-Anne and Oliver attend.
"We know the signs when we've got to get her to hospital ... but she spends most of her time at school," she said.
"And this doesn't just help us, but helps the community."
If the family's Go Fund Me campaign raises enough to buy a second defibrillator, Ms Mackay plans to donate it to another rural school.
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