Meet David and his daughter, Rheya
David Tooke is a member of the Zheng Dao Lo Academy, a martial arts academy in Chichester that raised an incredible £1,658 for Heartbeat over summer 2026. He’s also someone we’ve had the privilege to get to know very well, as we support him and his family closely through his daughter’s heart treatment.
David’s daughter, Rheya, was born with a complicated heart condition. At just 10 days old, she received lifesaving surgery at the University Hospital Southampton, and since then, she has undergone several significant operations – the most recent being just a year ago. Rheya is now 14 years old, and we at Heartbeat have been by her and her family’s side through it all. Whenever Rheya undergoes treatment at the University Hospital Southampton, we give David a place to stay at Heartbeat House, just 3-minutes’ walk from the hospital.
Rheya has showed extraordinary bravery through all her surgeries, and this determination is what inspired David to return to kickboxing after many years away from the sport. He’s now a proud member of the Zheng Dao Lo Martial Arts Academy in Chichester, and when discovering that they run an annual charity Chinese kickboxing challenge, he put Heartbeat forward as a beneficiary.
David knows first-hand the importance of cardiovascular health and the funds we need to continue researching and improving support for patients, so we were delighted to hear that he and his fellow kickboxers would be fundraising for us. Speaking of the decision, David said: “I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Heartbeat for the incredible support they have given my daughter throughout her life. Their help has been invaluable to me, my wife Claire, and, most importantly, Rheya.”
The members of Zheng Dao Lo Academy – which has schools in Chichester, Bognor, Havant and Wales – didn’t go easy on themselves for the challenge. They set the biggest target in the academy’s history: to complete 150,000 kicks throughout June and July. And we still can’t quite believe this, but the final total was a whopping 165,000 kicks!
Donations flooded in, and the final total raised was £3,317.50, which has been shared between us and St Wilfred’s Hospice – a charity close to another member’s heart.
David gave thanks to his Sifu at the academy – and now good friend – Eddie Craig, for encouraging him to fundraise for Heartbeat after learning how we’ve supported his family. David says he feels incredibly proud to be one of Eddie’s students and a member of such a fantastic martial arts academy that allowed him to embark on this special experience.
It’s sometimes hard to find the words to express just how grateful we are for people like David, Eddie and the Zheng Dao Lo community.
Our Community Fundraising and Marketing Manager, Tanya Harder described it best: "We are incredibly grateful to Zheng Dao Lo for choosing to support Heartbeat through this amazing fundraising effort. Seeing a community come together in such a meaningful way for causes that have touched the lives of its members is truly inspiring. It reflects the very essence of family, people standing beside one another, offering support when it is needed most, which is at the heart of everything we do at Heartbeat. This was an extraordinary challenge, and every single person who took part should be immensely proud of their achievement. We extend our heartfelt congratulations and sincere thanks to everyone involved.
“Every pound raised will help Heartbeat continue to provide vital care and support to cardiac patients and their families at some of the most challenging times in their lives. Rotary Heartbeat House has been an invaluable source of comfort and support for Rheya’s family, and we are deeply grateful to David for choosing to nominate us. His kindness and generosity, along with the support of everyone involved, will make a real difference to the families who rely on our services. Thank you so much.”
We feel honoured to be a part of David and Rheya’s lives and intend to continue supporting them with open arms.
