While Susan has taken part in the mini marathon before for the Irish Heart Foundation, this was the first year that Issey was old enough to participate and join her. Susan was delighted that they could participate together. “I think that’s lovely. Whereas I’ve done it a couple of times before, this was her first time. So, it’s actually been very special for me to be able to do it with her in memory of my dad, and her adored Granda”.
Susan decided to support the Irish Heart Foundation in memory of her dad John who passed away in 2019 from endocarditis, a rare but potentially serious infection affecting the inner lining of the heart and most commonly affecting one of the heart valves. It is usually caused by bacteria entering the blood and travelling to the heart, and is more common in older people, people with damaged heart valves, artificial heart valves, or other heart defects.
Her dad had undergone a heart valve replacement in 2015. “He was doing very well and despite the tough recovery period, the operation had given him a huge improvement to his quality of life”. After his heart valve replacement, he became more active, walking more and attending different classes.
When he contracted endocarditis Susan feels that “the family had never heard about the condition or knew that people who had a valve replacement were at an increased risk”. Susan wishes they had known more about the symptoms and what to be aware of. They often wonder if they did, “could there have been a different outcome”.
the family had never heard about endocarditis or knew that people who had a valve replacement were at an increased risk
Signs and symptoms of endocarditis vary, but the most common include flu like symptoms with a high temperature and chills, fatigue and tiredness, aching joints and muscles, headache, persistent cough and sore throat, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath or a new or changed heart murmur. Less common symptoms include spotted red or purple rash on the skin or narrow lines of blood under the fingernails.
For over eight years Susan has also volunteered for her local defibrillator group in Blackrock, Co Louth. She got involved after a young man collapsed playing football in the local football club. “It was a real shock. His daughter was in my daughter’s class, and he was only in his early 40s. They managed to save his life with the nearby defibrillator. So that kind of spurred me on as well. Any fundraising I do now, I do it for the Irish Heart Foundation. I want to increase awareness and understanding of heart disease so that other families don’t have to go through what we did”.
Susan would recommend running the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon on behalf of the Irish Heart Foundation. “It was so easy to sign up, the team there do a fantastic job and keep us on track, and I just tipped away at the training”.
2025-06-20
