Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SUMMIT SPECIAL
Harvey, 15, climbs Snowdon six weeks after his heart surgery
A BRAVE teen has climbed Mount Snowdon - just six weeks after open heart surgery.
Harvey Ackerley, 15, hiked 3,409ft to the summit on August 4 having recovered from the seven-and-a-half hour operation to repair two holes in his heart.
He completed the climb along with his mum Gemma, dad Gary and their golden retrievers Max and Enzo.
A reli e v ed Har v e y said: “On the way down, I thought, ‘I’ve just done that so soon after heart surgery’. It felt like a big achievement.”
The keen footballer, f r o m Wa r r i n g t o n , Cheshire, had been admitted to hospital in July 2019 with a burst appendix.
During his stay i n hospital, medics noticed an abnormality on an ECG, a test that checks the heart’s rhythm and electrical activity.
After his appendix op, h e was taken from Warrington Hospital to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where further tests revealed two holes in his heart.
Doctors believed the holes would put Harvey at risk of a heart attack before the age of 25. It came as a “total shock” to his family as he had been super fit with no signs of a heart condition. Harvey said: “I was worried I could die in theatre. Every twinge before the op I was so scared thinking it was my heart.”
Harvey’s charity climb up Snowdon, in North Wales, has so far helped raise more than £7,000 for Alder Hey.
Mum Gemma, 38, said: “It’s such a hard thing for anyone to do, let alone someone fresh out of open heart surgery. He did amazingly. We’re s o proud of him.”
Harvey added: “Climbing the mountain and fundraising was my way to give back to Alder Hey.”
His friends and family also got involved with fundraising as his younger sister Sienna, 12, ran 5km every day during lockdown.
Sienna and her twin Gabriella have designed T-shirts which will be released once they reach their £10,000 goal.
Harvey is now looking f o r wa rd to playing football again.
He added: “I have played nearly all my life, we play at a good level in the Liverpool League and I can’t wait to get back into it.”
Visit j ustgiving.com/fundraising/ harvey-ackerley1heart to help.
It’s such a hard thing to do, let alone after heart surgery. We’re proud of him HARVEY’S MUM GEMMA ON HER LAD’S ACHIEVEMENT