Heart hero Miles, four, will join charity fundraisers across Leeds for Wear Red Day today

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund’s Wear Red Day involves supporters - including businesses, schools, community groups, families and individuals - wearing red to help raise life-saving funds in aid of the congenital heart unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital.

Miles, four, has decided to complete a stair climb at his home in Kippax - covering a total of 59 metres, the distance the town is above sea level - as a way of giving back to the charity for its support during his own heart journey.

Little Miles was two weeks old when doctors at the unit diagnosed him with a condition called ventricular septal defect - which meant he had a hole in his heart.

Surgeons performed open heart surgery when he was just 10 weeks old but now his proud mum, Gemma Blackhurst, 28, told the Yorkshire Evening Post he’s just like any other boy his age.

She said: “You wouldn’t even know, looking at him. They are just brilliant. You just trust them completely. They are great.

“And the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund has been brilliant. Even just giving us a room at the hospital [while Miles was receiving treatment]. We live on the outskirts of Leeds so if we had had to travel it would have been an absolute nightmare. And we didn’t have to think about parking.

“The play workers on the ward - they brought us baby toys that we could play with him and always came to check if we had everything we needed.

“The Fund also funded the TV that was in our room on the normal ward. They’ve been fab.”

Gemma had had a normal pregnancy with Miles but while bathing him at two weeks old, she and husband Matthew noticed a lump in his neck and took him to LGI.

The lump turned out to be related to his birth and disappeared not long afterwards - but the hospital visit proved potentially life-saving as there, doctors discovered his heart condition.

Gemma said: “They noticed his breathing was shallow and he was struggling a little bit to breathe. He went for a scan of his chest to make sure his lungs were ok and while scanning him they noticed he had a lot of liquid around his heart and they found a heart murmur. When they looked into it further they found a hole in his heart.”

Despite initial hopes it may heal on its own, scans a few weeks later revealed it hadn’t and the five-and-a-half hour open heart surgery was carried out when he was just ten weeks old.

Gemma said the wait to see him afterwards was “the longest time of my life” but after a total of five days in hospital he was able to go home.

“Luckily he’ll be fine - he’s all fixed, but he’ll never be discharged. He will have to go for regular check ups - they have to keep an eye on him as he gets bigger, but that’s like all heart patients.”

The family will be wearing red today while Miles climbs the flight of stairs at his home 21 times to reach the 59 metre target.

Pupils at his school, Kippax Greenfields Primary School, are also taking part in their own Wear Red Day virtual stair climbs.

To sponsor Miles and his fellow school pupils visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kippax-greenfieldsAnyone taking part in Wear Red Day is asked to share their fundraising on Social media with the hashtag #WearRedDay.

To support Wear Red Day by text message, text CHSFWRD (plus any amount up to 20) to 70085. Eg CHSFWRD 3 would give £3.

*YEP's Have a Heart campaign

The Yorkshire Evening Post launched a Have a Heart campaign earlier this year, to help the Children's Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) reach its £1m target for donations in 2020.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, CHSF has been forced to issue an urgent plea for donations after losing a "significant portion" of its yearly income.

Visit www.chsf.org.uk/donate.

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