Ten years after her son died suddenly from a hidden heart defect, Marje Scott is pulling on her trainers to do the Great North Run in his memory.
She will also be raising money for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), which is lobbying the Government for all young people to undergo standard cardiac screening.
Mike Scott, from Beadlam, near Kirkbymoorside, was an apparently fit and active 17-year-old when he collapsed and died while playing basketball in Pickering.
Since his death, his parents, Marje and Allan, have worked tirelessly to alert other people to the warning signs of heart defects so lessons can be learned from their tragedy.
Speaking on the tenth anniversary of their son’s death earlier this yearly, the couple said there wasn’t a day that passes without them thinking of Mike.
Marje said: “To look at Mike, he seemed fit and healthy and no one knew he had a heart condition, probably because he was so active.
“The first time we knew that something might be wrong was when he fainted while playing football for Kirkdale United, three weeks before he died.
“A doctor examined him and couldn’t find anything, but we were so worried that we took him privately to York.
“They said Mike was an ordinary, healthy young man, but put him forward for an ECG scan to see if they could find anything wrong.”
But Mike died before ever having the scan.
Marje said: “If we had known then what we know now we would have taken things further, but we had no idea it was that serious.
“If Mike had had that ECG scan then things could have been a lot different. That’s why it’s so important that young people are checked out for heart problems while they are at school. They get their eyes and ears checked so why not something as vital as their heart?”
Marje is now getting ready to pound the pavements of Gateshead as she takes part in the Great North Run on Sunday to raise money for CRY.
The charity provides information and support and can be contacted, by phoning 01737 363 222.
