A mother and her daughter are running the Manchester Marathon for a specialist hospital that has recently been supporting their whole family.  

Hayley Lawrence, and her daughter Megan, are also using the opportunity to fundraise for the Royal Papworth Charity.  

The specialist hospital has been supporting their family since Hayley’s husband and Megan’s father Phil, 62, discovered he’d had a heart attack last summer.  

Hayley said: “Phil didn’t experience any of the classic signs of a heart attack like the crushing chest pains or not being able to breathe.  

“He went to the doctor because he didn’t feel well and ended up at Papworth hospital where the heart specialists said it may have happened up to eight weeks previously. 

“Phil had woken up one morning with a pain in his shoulder and just thought he’d slept awkwardly – and the specialists say that’s probably when the heart attack had happened. 

“A huge part of his heart has been left severely damaged and it has left him with an aneurysm.” 

Hayley, 51, and Megan, 24, both from Huntingdon, are now in the final stages of their training for the marathon which takes place on April 14, 2024.  

Hayley said: “Papworth have been absolutely amazing with their care both when Phil was an inpatient and now an outpatient.  

“Not only did the medics look after my husband, they took care of us too.  

“They always asked us how we were doing too because what happened was also a huge shock for us too.  

“Taking part in the Manchester Marathon is our way of saying ‘thank you’ and to show how grateful we are for everything they have done.” 

Hayley and Megan have set up a JustGiving page for their fundraising efforts. To sponsor them visit https://shorturl.at/hlFZ5