'My baby spent 14 months in hospital, now she's doing the Mini Great North Run'

Just one year ago, Beatrix Archbold was recovering after receiving a new heart which followed 14 months in hospital.

Now the three-year-old is days away from taking part in the Mini Great North Run.

‘There is a beautiful life waiting at the other side of the hospital ward’

Proud mum Cheryl, from Roker, said: “We hope that Beatrix taking part in the run gives other families, in the situation we were in - hope.

“Our message to anyone waiting for a transplant, or with family waiting, is don’t give up hope, there is a beautiful life waiting at the other side of the hospital ward.”

Beatrix will do the 1.2 kilometre run on September 7 with the help of her support worker Monica.

‘My baby spent 14 months in hospital’

Cheryl said: “Never in a million years did I ever imagine that my baby would spend 14 months in hospital.

“My return home were always brief but it was only due to the support of the Rainbow Trust that I was able to build on that.

“Thanks to our wonderful support worker Monica I was able to leave Beatrix in her care at the ward and I felt completely reassured that Beatrix was having a wonderful time. It was like leaving her with a trusted friend who felt like family.”

A cardiac arrest when she was one year old

Beatrix’s own story unfolded in May 2022.

The Archbold family had returned from a trip to Disney World in Florida and thought Beatrix caught Covid. 

She had stopped drinking, had a rash on her neck and the family dialled 111. After going to A&E, a doctor at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead detected a heart murmur. Tests showed one side of her heart was enlarged and not functioning properly.

‘Monica glued us together as a family’

She had an operation to fit a line into her body so she could receive medication but she had a cardiac arrest and was saved by expert surgeons at the Freeman Hospital who performed open heart surgery.

Then came a 14 month wait for a new heart which eventually came in the summer of 2023.

Cheryl added: “Those days were some of the toughest and darkest times we had and the support of Monica glued us together as a family.

“This support continued when we got ‘the call’.

“And when Beatrix came home, all this time Monica was there to support and our oldest daughter also, as this time was incredibly intense.

A feisty little girl who is full of life

“When we agreed for Beatrix to run the mini GNR we knew straight away that we wanted her to do the run with Monica. They make the best team and we are so looking forward to cheering them on from the sideline.” The little girl lived in the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for a year and was attached to tubes which acted as her ventricles.

One year on, she is a ‘feisty’ little girl who is full of life and her family loves it.

Cheryl said: “Beatrix has embraced her second chance fully. She lives a wild life and loves to be outdoors. I have no doubt that Monica will end up carrying Beatrix for most of the run, but she has carried us all this way so she is used to it!”

Beatrix has her own fundraising page and is raising money for the Rainbow Trust.

To support her, visit the page here.