5-year-old fan Elsie Payne steals Leeds Rhinos' hearts at pre-season photocall

The five-year-old fan was invited to take a place of honour on one of the team’s official pictures ahead of their new campaign, which begins in two weeks’ time. Elsie, who had life saving open heart surgery at Leeds Children’s Hospital as a baby, visited Rhinos to help them show their support for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) which will be holding its annual Wear Red Day fundraiser on Friday.

Rhinos are keen backers of congenital heart disease charities after Zane Tetevano, who played for them from 2021-2023, underwent cardiac surgery last year following a stroke. Elsie’s parents were told she needed a heart scan following a routine check the day after her birth in August, 2018. The family were told she had a heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot and Elsie then underwent an operation to repair the defects on her tiny heart.

Her mum, Rachel, feels the care Elsie received from the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit made all the difference to the little one’s recovery, but donations to CHSF are needed to keep giving optimum treatment to others.

“Elsie loved meeting the Rhinos today and the whole family are big fans of the team,” Rachel said. “It was a real bonus to have CHSF mascot Katie Bear there too. Without CHSF my daughter wouldn’t be here. Previous donations have provided life-saving equipment to keep my daughter alive and I will carry on raising money so CHSF can do the same for other children.”

Rachel stressed: “These wonderful people will always be in our lives and I will never be able to thank anyone who was involved in Elsie’s care enough for giving her a much better quality of life. My way of repayment is to fundraise to help support children like Elsie and their families. Please give what you can to help CHSF carry out their vital work.”

Around one in 125 babies in the UK are born with a heart defect and more than 17,000 patients of all ages are looked after by the unit and clinics network in a typical year. To get involved in Wear Red Day and donate to CHSF, text CHSFWRD (plus any amount up to £20) to 70085, or donate online at http://chsf.org.uk/donate.