Rutland dad runs in London Marathon, after daughter had TWO open heart surgeries
He's raising money to give back to the charity that helped save his daughter's life
A man from Rutland's competing in the London Marathon today, to give back to the charity that helped save his daughter's life, twice.
Craig Woodward's daughter, Poppy, was born with the rare heart defect known as truncus arteriosus - which meant she needed life-saving open heart surgery when she was just 20 days old, and again 18 months later.
Craig says, if it wasn't for the research funded by the British Heart Foundation, she may not have survived:
'Going through that was a traumatic experience as a father, we had a great community around us at Glenfield Hospital. They've got a great support network there.
'Before the BHF existed, the majority of babies born with severe heart defects didn't make it past their first birthday. Now, today, with the research and funding, eight-in-ten survive to adulthood.'
Poppy is now 11-years-old, and is unable to watch her dad run in person because she's in training for a dance competition - but she'll be watching on TV.
Craig added: 'I'll be feeling a lot of emotion when I cross the finish line. I'm just hoping to raise as much as I can for the charity.'
'I'm booked in to have a burger and a beer with my friend as soon as I'm finished.'