Havant heart transplant survivor taking on Great South run

Tim Poynter, 61, received his new heart on October 29 last year, after a nightmare 18-months in which he had faced two cardiac arrests and a cancer diagnosis.

Now, the father-of-two is set to take on the 10-mile run with his new heart on October 20 - almost a year to the day since his transplant.

It was in March 2022 that Tim first noticed the symptoms that would lead to a life-changing diagnosis. He was walking his dog with his wife, Sarah, when he found himself out of breath and struggling to keep up. After a visit to his GP, he was admitted to hospital where he suffered his first cardiac arrest.

The life-threatening events prompted doctors to fit him with a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) - a small device that delivers a shock to the heart if it goes into a dangerously abnormal rhythm. And, despite the seriousness of what he had experienced, he told his wife that he would be ‘up and running and again in no time’.

That hope proved to be short-lived as by the end of 2022, his heart began to fail leaving him short of breath and suffering extreme fatigue. And there was further bad news for Tim as doctors also discovered he had thyroid cancer.

Over the next few months, Tim’s health began to seriously deteriorate. He said: “It was soul destroying. I’d been fit as a fiddle my whole life and now I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs.”

Doctors at Portsmouth Hospital believed that Tim’s only option was a heart transplant.

“I went for an assessment. It was meant to last two days, but at the end of the first day they told me I wouldn’t be going home as they were putting me on the urgent transplant list.”

Just nine days later, a suitable donor heart was found, and the lifesaving operation went ahead. After 19 days in hospital, Tim was discharged to continue his recovery – both physical and psychological - at home.

Grateful for his new chance at life, Tim decided to fundraise for the British Heart Foundation by taking part in the Great South Run – an event he has previously completed six times. He will be running as part of a 14 strong group of friends and family that includes his wife, Sarah, and his two sons, Sam and Oli.

Tim said: “We have called ourselves Team Tortoise because I won’t be setting any records. My best time for the Great South Run was an hour and 20 minutes, but this year the goal is just to finish.

“I can never repay the health service for what they have done for me. But if I can raise some money for research, that's my way of saying thank you.”