A mum from Nottingham is running this year's London Marathon for her daughter who has endured five open heart surgeries – one of which led to a stroke when she was just four-years-old. Jen Evans, 37, is raising money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) after her daughter Sophie – now aged 13 - was born with a congenital heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
It meant the left side of Sophie's heart was underdeveloped and wasn't pumping correctly. Jen and her husband Phil were first told there was something wrong with Sophie's heart during a 20-week screening scan.
Jen, who works as a mental health well-being assistant at a primary school, said: "We hadn't really heard of heart-related issues in children before, so were in a bit of a daze. While we were in shock, the good news was that there were things that could be done to help her, mainly a surgery called the Fontan Procedure which would involve three surgeries over five years."
