A woman who was forced to sit on the sidelines during school sports after doctors strongly advised her not to exercise due to a rare heart condition has defied expectations and is now set to run the London Marathon just like her godfather, who raised £10,000 in her honour running the same marathon 25 years ago.
Georgie Spurling, 29, from London, was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called double inlet left ventricle when she was born, disrupting her blood flow through the heart, and meaning she needed surgery at just four years old and was advised not to exercise at all.
However, as Georgie became a teenager the reality of her condition sunk in and as she watched her extremely active family throw themselves into sports, the teen became heartbroken as she spent her youth sat on the sidelines during PE until she decided to take dance at sixth form, going on to and defying doctors’ expectations.
