September 2026 will mark an important milestone for Colby - he will be starting Reception Class. To commemorate this his dad, Paul and one of his uncles, Andrew, will be participating in the Great North Run.

Colby will be making the leap from nursery to school like so many other children but his route to getting there hasn’t been the easiest.

He was born in March 2022 and was what everyone presumed a perfectly healthy baby - second born following his younger brother Dustin two years prior. A routine visit to the doctors in May discovered a heart murmur, further tests followed and multiple admissions to the Freeman Hospital lead to Colby requiring open heart surgery that October to repair a VSD and PDA ligation. Following the surgery he went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated by the staff on hand.

Colby bounced back from intensive care, to the ward and then home. However, his resuscitation led to respiratory complications - tracheal stenosis, Colby’s windpipe had reduced to the size of a pinhole. He would undergo his first surgery at the Great North Children’s Hospital followed by a stay in their intensive care unit. What would follow is, to date, a further 9 times in surgery which would often discover his windpipe had shrunk and needed to be dilated. An infection amongst all of this resulted in severe ear perforations causing, at time of writing, an unknown level of hearing loss.

It’s just the beginning of Colby’s journey and we’ll be running the 13.1 miles as our way of giving back to the Great North Children’s Hospital - the hospital where he’s had his longest stays. This is also only part of his story - he’s one of 6 grandchildren who he loves spending time with, he enjoys the outdoors, Lego and Ninja Turtles. He’s got his whole life ahead of him but he wouldn’t have gotten there without the prayer and support of church, family, friends, nursery, colleagues and all those who frequently ask about him.

Thank You

Thank you for choosing to support Newcastle Hospitals Charity.

As the official Charity of Newcastle Hospitals, every penny raised is spent locally to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the North East and beyond. Home of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and the Great North Children's Hospital, we help to make a positive difference for the patients, staff and communities of Newcastle Hospitals.

To find out more about the Charity visit https://charity.newcastle-hospitals.nhs.uk/