A three-year-old boy is doing a walking challenge to raise money for the hospital that treated him for a serious heart defect when he was born.

Rory Newing, from Sheerness, was born on July 18, 2017 to proud parents Daisy, 34, and Martin, 35.

However, when Daisy was 19 weeks pregnant, she was told her baby boy had a congenital heart defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA), which meant the two main arteries leaving his heart were reversed.

The condition meant Rory had to be born at the University College London Hospital so he was close to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). He was taken to GOSH less than 24 hours after his birth, before undergoing open heart surgery at just 17 days old.

First-time mum Daisy said: “We were one of the lucky ones, as quite a lot of babies are not diagnosed with such a defect until after they are born.”

She added: “After the surgery, Rory’s heart was swollen from the procedure so they had to keep his chest open for a few days.

“It was so surreal being able to look down and see my baby’s insides working away to keep him alive.”

'We are walking wherever he wants to go.'

Rory had to stay at GOSH, while he recovered, until he was four-and-a-half-weeks-old. He was then transferred to Medway hospital, where he stayed for another week.

Daisy said ‘there are no words’ to thank the GOSH staff.

Now he is walking 62 miles to give something back.

Daisy said: “The challenge popped up on GOSH’s facebook page. I asked if he wanted to do it and he jumped up and down, and said ‘Yay, walking’, so I took that as a yes.

“We are walking wherever he wants to go.”

So far Rory has raised £180 of his £200 target and he’s covered more than 31 miles since the start of the month.

You can donate here.

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