Mum saddles up for charity cycle

AN inspiring Glasgow mum who underwent lifesaving openheart surgery during Covid19 has spoken about the “terrifying” experience.

Rachael MacIsaac spent one month in hospital away from her baby boy, Ruairidh, after receiving surgery to replace a damaged aortic valve.

The mum, from Crookston, said: “Needless to say a fourweek stay in hospital and heart surgery during a global pandemic was terrifying.

“I couldn’t have any visitors and didn’t see Ruairidh, who is just a year-old, for a month.

“It was an incredibly difficult time for me, my husband Liam and my whole family, but during my stay in hospital the staff at the Golden Jubilee in Clydebank were absolutely wonderful and supported me through a terrifying ordeal.”

Rachael, above, underwent surgery 10 years ago due to the same valve previously being damaged, but last summer, she began to feel tired and unwell.

Initially, she put it down to balancing working from home and looking after Ruairidh.

However, after finding herself struggling to breathe one evening in August, she was admitted to hospital where tests revealed the valve had deteriorated and was leaking – causing fluid to build up in her lungs.

Now fully recovered, she is inspired to take part in the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) virtual cycling challenge, MyCycle, to raise cash for life-saving research.

She had set herself a target of £500 but has already surpassed this with more than £1300 donated on an online fundraiser.

“I am living proof of the benefits of the research funded by the BHF,” she said.

Heart and circulatory diseases cause around 50 deaths each day in Scotland and an estimated 700,000 people in the country are living with the daily burden of these conditions.

James Jopling, head of BHF Scotland, said: “Rachael’s story is so inspiring, and we are very grateful she has chosen to take part in our MyCycle challenge.

“Cycling is a great way to stay active and the challenge allows people to take on a distance that suits them.”