The family of a five-year-old girl born without a bone in her leg is celebrating after she completed her first 1k run to raise more than £1,600 for Oxford Hospitals Charity.
Ida James, who lives in Bicester, completed the run earlier this year to raise the funds for the official charity for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The youngster was born with Fibular hemimelia – which means her entire left fibula was missing. It's a rare disorder, occurring in only one in 40,000 births.
She has been receiving treatment at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford from when she was just six days old.
Ida James
Read more: Should trick or treating be cancelled on Halloween?
After two life-changing operations it wasn’t long before Ida was running, dancing and jumping her way through every life milestone – something that would not have been possible without the help of the teams at the NOC.
During lockdown, Ida’s mum Kayleigh, signed up for the ‘Race 2 Rome’, a half marathon event with her local running club the Heyford Aardvarks, which included a smaller 1k race that Ida took part in.
Mrs James said: “My half marathon went really well, despite some challenges with the weather and training during such uncertain times. We are all so proud of Ida for completing her 1k - she’s just an inspiration to us all.
Read more: County cases rise by more than 100 in a day
“We’re incredibly grateful for the expert care that she had from the amazing teams at the NOC over the years and this is our way of giving back.”
The money raised supports the work of Oxford Hospitals Charity, which helps make a difference for patients and staff across the John Radcliffe, Churchill, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford Children’s Hospital and Horton General in Banbury.
Ida James
Emily Waddell, community fundraising manager for Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: “We love hearing stories about how our local fundraisers get involved to thank the hospitals for amazing care.
“Support like this allows us to continue the vital work across our local Oxfordshire hospitals, now and in the future.
Read again: Road rage driver caused M40 smash after braking in front of van
“Like many charities we have had to cancel lots of our events this year, so if any Oxford Mail readers have a fundraising idea for our hospital charity or can tell us what you have been up to, then we’d love to hear from you.”
Mrs James added on Facebook: “The half marathon went really well, despite some challenges with the weather and training during such uncertain times.
Kayleigh James
Heyford Aardvarks not only supported Ida and Kayleigh’s fundraising but also got involved and created their own virtual event, ‘Race to Rome’ where over 30 members ran the distance from Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire to Rome, Italy in support of the charity and raised over £500.
Read more: Plans for almost 500 new homes
If you have an idea or want to start fundraising for the charity there are lots of different activities you can do to get involved, including running, cycling and getting your head shaved. For more visit the website hospitalcharity.co.uk/hospitalcharitychallenge.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel