I'm running the Hackney Half to raise money for Barts Charity, and specifically for the team at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.

On 4th December 2021 I took myself into UCL with chest pains I'd assumed were heartburn, expecting to be sent home with a bottle of Gaviscon to join my friends’ Christmas celebrations that night. Unfortunately I never made it to the party...

After some initial testing the UCL team swiftly transferred me to St Barts in an ambulance (first time for everything), where I arrived pretty flustered in a hospital gown with a cannula in both arms. After a quick consultation with the cardiology team I was whisked off for an angiogram, where a camera was inserted through my wrist to look at the inside of my heart. 

Thankfully everything was healthy and I'd not had a heart attack, which would have been very unusual for someone of my age who tries their best to live a healthy lifestyle. But I would have a permanent scar on my heart which would need to heal.

Extended assessment occurred over the next two days which included multiple ECGs, X-Rays, cardiograms and an MRI all while I waited for the troponin enzyme in my blood to return to a normal level. Due to Covid restrictions no guests were allowed, so those were a very weird couple of days.

By the evening of 6th December I'd been discharged by Cardiologist Dr Guttmann with suspected myocarditis, something which causes inflammation in the heart muscle usually due to a viral infection. As scary as my experience was, I was thankful it wasn't anything more serious and to be back home with Sashy and Frida.

Due to the permanent scarring on my heart I was ordered to not do any serious exercise for 6 months, probably the longest period of my life where I've not been for a run or chased after a football. 

So I instead started practising meditation techniques and exploring trying to live a more mindful life. I like to think that this positively contributed to Sashy getting pregnant very soon after, and we became parents to Felix in September 2023. He's already 7 months old and we couldn't be happier.

All this has led to me wanting to give something back to the NHS and the team who gave me world-class care, whilst also having a fitness target to aim for. So what could be a better day out than running 13.1 miles around Hackney!?

Please help me repay the St Barts team for their continuing support with your donations which will fund further treatment and research for our criminally underfunded NHS. 

And if you've scrolled down this far, thank you so much for allowing me to tell you my story x