A little girl who told her parent "Mummy, I can't breathe", was rushed to hospital.
Four-year-old Olivia Higgins had been experiencing mild cold symptoms that did not appear to be a cause for concern. But on Christmas Eve, as she was playing on her iPad, she suddenly told her parents Ella and Robbie she couldn't breath.
The Leigh-born youngster was rushed to Wigan hospital. Her shocked granddad, Gary Shorrock, received a phone call at 11.55pm and assumed it was his daughter calling to say Merry Christmas.
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He told the ECHO: "We went straight to the hospital and Olivia was conscious but was completely unaware. Her eyes were open but her body was in shock and she needed to be put into an induced coma."
As doctors struggled to understand what was wrong, Olivia was transferred to Alder Hey where she remained under 24-hour care in a coma. She was eventually diagnosed with Strep A, Flue A, pneumonia and sepsis.
Being treated with six different antibiotics, Olivia, who also had a collapsed lung, remained in an induced coma for five days before she was able to breath by herself. She remained in hospital for two more days before being allowed to return home.
But Gary, who was amazed by Alder Hey, pledged to give back to the hospital that saved his granddaughter's life. Gary, who now lives in the Lake District, ran a 47-mile lap around Windermere.
Setting a target of £5,000, Gary raised more than £11,000 as he pledged to continue fundraising for the cause.
He said: "When Olivia was in hospital, it was my first experience of Alder Hey. When we were at Wigan they explained she needed a children's specialist hospital and there's few in the country but luckily Alder Hey were able to take her in.
"But it needs as much funding as it can get. If they didn't have a spare bed they wouldn't have been able to accept her."
Gary added: "Olivia had the symptoms of a cold, nothing you'd class as major. It was obviously something she'd picked up in nursery and we were aware of Strep A but it wasn't something we immediately thought on.
"On the Wednesday she was fine, the Thursday she was quieter than normal. And on Christmas Eve, Ella said she isn't sure why she let Olivia stay up later than usual but she was quieter than normal and kept her up for cuddles.
"But she turned round to Ella and said, "mummy I can't breath". It wasn't obvious anything was wrong but it got to the point she felt she was struggling."
Gary, who completed his incredible fundraiser in just over 10 hours, said Alder Hey is "exceptional" as he said: "I can't imagine getting better care anywhere else in the world."
Anyone wishing to donate can do so here.
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