Positive update since writing the below - Tom has now started his rehab and is making progress! as always supported by his wife Katy and the girls.

At the beginning of September last year, my cousin Tom suffered a tear in the heart (heart dissection) and a subsequent stroke, aged only 39. He underwent an emergency 10-hour operation at Harefield Hospital and was placed on an ECMO machine to support his heart and lungs for over a week. We did not think he would make it through the night following his operation, but thanks to the amazing doctors, specialist surgeons, nurses, healthcare professionals and staff at Harefield Hospital, he pulled through this massive first hurdle.

He remained in the ICU for over a month, still unconscious from his surgery and on life support machines. He is obviously a fighter and began to wake up and respond and was then moved to a high dependency ward, another step forward. He has now moved to another hospital where his progress continues to amaze us all. Less than two months ago he was unable to speak, he now throws out the occasional insult to visitors and such is his obsession with food (not being able to eat properly yet himself) it was a touchy subject of conversation for a period when visiting! He is now due to be moved to a specialist rehabilitation centre in the next week where he will continue on his road to recovery!

The type of pioneering research that the British Heart Foundation funds, helps enable the extraordinary professionals at the NHS to deliver lifesaving care, like Tom’s. A cardiologist recently told me that the British Heart Foundation funded their 3 years of research, a prime example of how funds raised go towards continuous improvements in heart health.

Heart issues are something that are close to my family and I know will be with many others. My grandparents having had many heart related complications, are another reason why I have chosen to run for the British Heart Foundation.

Thank you so much for the support, Joe.

Every donation you make help funds scientific breakthroughs that can save and improve the lives of millions suffering from heart and circulatory diseases.