Parents running Leeds 10k to thank children’s heart unit lifesavers

Mathew and Sheila Sorby want to raise cash for the Leeds Children’s Heart Surgery Fund after describing the care their daughter Amelia received as “amazing.”

Amelia, who is now fully recovered, was a 12-week-old baby when she underwent an operation at Leeds General Infirmary in April 2010 to repair a hole in her heart.

The couple, both aged 41, of Ossett, Wakefield, took Amelia to Dewsbury and District Hospital when she was eight-weeks-old after she developed a rash and they feared she was suffering from meningitis.

Those fears were allayed, but doctors detected a heart murmur.

An LGI cardioligist working at an outreach clinic at the Dewsbury hospital diagnosed Amelia as suffering from a hole in her heart.

Mrs Sorby, a nurse who worked at the cardiology unit at LGI for 12-years to 2007, said: “When Amelia was diagnosed we felt sick, we felt that the world had stopped and we were going to lose our first-born child. We were numb.

“Her treatment was absolutely fabulous. The after care was just amazing. The intensive care unit was really professional and really thorough. The care was superb. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. If it wasn’t for the staff and their professionalism it would have been a much worse situation.

“The care came from the doctors and the nurses but the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund do a wonderful job providing facilities for parents.”

Mrs Sorby added: “Amelia tells people she has had her heart fixed and shows off her scar proudly.”

Local government solicitor Mr Sorby is a keen runner but Mrs Sorby, who now works as a community nurse, is a novice and this Sunday’s race will be her first 10k.

To sponsor Mathew and Shelia Sorby in the Leeds 10k and help the Leeds Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, go to: http://www.justgiving.com/Sheila-Sorby2