A Wiltshire dad crossed the finish line at the TCS London Marathon dressed as a giant heart after the British Heart Foundation saved his baby daughter’s life.

The Chippenham father-of-three was one of hundreds of British Heart Foundation (BHF) runners who took to the streets of London last weekend to conquer the TCS London Marathon and raise funds for the charity’s lifesaving research.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Chippenham dad Matt Roberts who took part in the TCS London Marathon at the weekend dressed as a giant heart to thank the British Heart Foundation for saving his baby daughter’s life.Chippenham dad Matt Roberts who took part in the TCS London Marathon at the weekend dressed as a giant heart to thank the British Heart Foundation for saving his baby daughter’s life. (Image: British Heart Foundation)

Amalie is Matt and wife Sophie’s third child and was born in November 2019 with the condition Transposition of the Great Arteries and a hole in her heart.

An abnormality was detected when Sophie went for her 20-week scan and specialists were able to diagnose the condition before she was born.

The condition meant that Amalie’s heart wouldn’t be able to pump oxygenated blood around the body – and Matt and Sophie were told that their baby would require open heart surgery soon after birth if she were to survive.

Little Amalie had the surgery to get an Arterial Switch when she was just 18 days old.

The major blood vessels were switched around and the hole in her heart was repaired.

The operation was performed by BHF Professor Massimo Caputo – Professor of Congenital Cardiac Surgery at the University of Bristol.

Matt said: “We were told our little daughter would have a fight on her hands in the first few weeks, so we did face an anxious wait. But luckily, we had lots of time to do our research about the condition before Amalie was born. Professor Caputo answered every question we had and was able to reassure us that everything was going to be OK,” added Matt. We felt that Amalie was in the safest hands”.

Matt added: “We faced an agonising wait that day and we were waiting by the phone for any news. The surgery took eight hours and we were relieved to receive a call to say that it had all gone well. Being able to take Amalie home with us just before Christmas was so special.

So far, BHF London Marathon runners have raised nearly £2 million and rising to go towards cutting-edge research into regenerative medicine, offering hope for the almost one million people living with heart failure in the UK.

Amongst those running was Matt Roberts, a Project Manager from Chippenham, who has raised more than £17,000 for the charity so far from multiple fundraisers including the 2022 TCS London Marathon.