ELEVEN years after being pulled back from the brink of death, young Stuart King is fighting fit - and he is about to prove it.

Born with major heart problems, he had been under the knife for two bouts of open-heart surgery by the time he was just 16 months old.

But now, despite the prospect of yet more surgery to come, the sporty youngster is to take part in a gruelling triathlon to raise money for the unit where he received his life-saving treatment.

Stuart, 12, has his own circuit in Sunday's Totton Triathlon which will be attempted by 230 adults.

He will first swim 18 lengths of the pool at Totton recreation centre before leaping onto his bike to pedal a 4.5 mile circuit in Totton. Then he will put on his running shoes to sprint 1,000 metres.

The Testwood Secondary School pupil who wants to be a professional footballer or athlete, said he was undaunted by the challenge.

"I have been training every day and I feel like it shouldn't be too tough. I have been through all of these problems with my heart and I want other people to be able to benefit from the best treatment when they are young."

Stuart was born with a hole in the heart, a narrowing pulmonary artery that caused a build-up of muscle on the wall of his heart and with his aorta and pulmonary arteries the wrong way round.

He still faces another operation to widen his pulmonary artery, but doctors are so pleased with his progress it may not be necessary for some time.

So far he has raised over £140 in sponsorship for Wessex Heartbeat, the charity that hopes to raise £1 million to improve the Wessex cardiac unit at Southampton General Hospital.

Stuart hopes to raise even more vital funds which will go towards boosting facilities and equipment at the unit which caters for around 700 children a year and has great success in treating heart problems in youngsters.

Peter Wickham, Wessex Heartbeat's fundraising manager, said: "We are delighted that Stuart is raising funds for Wessex Heartbeat. This is a tremendous feat for any 12-year-old, but for someone with a history of serious heart problems it is particularly special. The money will help us transform the centre which is one of only nine in the country and is truly pioneering."

Stuart's mum Sandra, 42, who will be cheering him on with his sisters Joanna, 14, and Rachel, 8, said: "He's very fit, always on the go."

If you would like to sponsor Stuart, contact Sandra King on 023 8082 7813.

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