London Marathon Supporter Spotlight….

Dave Oh’s Marathon Story:

St Albans runner Dave Oh is taking on the huge challenge of running the virtual Virgin London Marathon for Kawasaki Disease awareness – the leading cause of acquired heart disease in UK Children.

Dave’s story on why he has chosen to run for Kawasaki Disease awareness is both inspiring and hard-hitting. His son Jayden now 13 years old – often described as a ‘miracle boy’ – was the first child in Hong Kong to ever undergo a triple heart bypass at just five years old.

His story however started before this when he was just nine months old. Dave and his wife Meko noticed something wrong with their son. He had a high fever, blood-shot eyes and a “strawberry tongue” and was later diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. Unfortunately, Kawasaki Disease wreaked havoc on his heart and not only had he developed two giant aneurysms in his coronary arteries, but his left coronary artery had narrowed, and his right coronary artery was blocked completely.

Jayden spent two months in hospital before coming home and despite his ordeal and having to live with acquired heart disease, he was an active child explains Dave. He loved playing football, scooting, swimming, and fighting with his little brother.

It wasn’t until almost 5 years later in June 2013 Jayden suffered severe heart failure with an Ejection Fraction (measure of heart function) of 15% (normal range should be around 70%). Dave and his wife Meko were told that that their son’s best chance of survival was a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).  Dave and Meko’s world stopped.

Jayden endured 10 hours of surgery, and 12 days in intensive care post-op, where he was hooked up with a mechanical pump as his heart was not strong enough to function on its own. “It was the toughest time of our lives” explained Dave. “We were lingering around the ICU everyday praying for his heart to resume. After a week of ups and downs, his heart was working again, and he was able to come off the ECMO.”

A few weeks after the surgery, Jayden’s doctors discussed the necessity of a heart transplant as the improvement of his heart function was slow. “We were devastated. But miraculously a few days later, Jayden’s EF went up to 30 percent and the subject of a heart transplant was never mentioned again – it was a miracle”.

Dave and his family returned to the UK in August 2014 and Jayden continued his treatment and care at Great Ormond Street Hospital. “The doctors, nurses, consultants and every single staff member at GOSH have been and continue to make us feel at ease and always strive to ensure Jayden has the best care” said Dave.

Dave explains just how proud he is of his son who he said: “has shown such courage over the years despite the constant hospital visits, daily anti heart failure medication and uncertainty. He has overcome so many obstacles and endured more pain than many will have to in a lifetime – he is and always will be our miracle boy”.

Jayden is now 13 and attends check-ups twice a year at Great Ormond Street Hospital – he takes it all in his stride and although he will be on medication for the rest of his life, he lives a relatively normal life doing what most other 13-year-old boys do.

Both Dave and Meko have dedicated their life to raising awareness of Kawasaki Disease so other children don’t have to go through what their son did.

Running the London marathon has always been on Dave’s bucket list of things to do and as well as raising money and awareness of Kawasaki Disease for Societi Foundation he will also be raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

If you would like to support Dave, you can sponsor him here.

It isn’t always easy to hear about the devastating consequences of Kawasaki Disease. It is our hope that in sharing these stories, from affected families, it will help grow understanding, awareness, and knowledge about Kawasaki Disease.

We are so grateful to Dave, Meko and Jayden for being generous enough to tell their story, it is not an easy thing to do! But the awareness it raises and the hope it gives other families – well, that’s priceless. ❤️❤️