Portadown pharmacist Kirby Mercer finishes half marathon in aid of British Heart Foundation

Kirby Mercer from Portadown raised more than £1,400 for British Heart Foundation NI (BHF) by taking part in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in memory of her father, Gary, who died in May at the age of 63.

As her dad had a history of living with heart and circulatory conditions, Kirby chose to undertake the run to raise awareness and raise funds for BHF, the biggest funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases in Europe.

BHF NI partnered the Antrim Coast half marathon which this year saw a record number of runners taking part from 30 different countries, to raise funds and awareness of the life-saving research that helps people living here who are affected by heart and circulatory conditions.

Kirby (28) said: “I ran in memory of my dad who was always so supportive of me and encouraged me in all my sports activities.

"My dad had a heart attack in December 2015 and had started on a cardiac rehabilitation programme but then six months later in May 2016, he had a stroke.”

Gary had a family history of heart attack and stroke but at just 55, he had always been active and loved travelling.

Kirby said: “After the heart attack he had been doing so well, taking care of his nutrition and regularly exercising at the gym, so naturally when he had the stroke, this really scared him and he didn’t want to leave the house and exert himself.”

Over the next few years Gary built his confidence back up and had been well and able, with medication for his heart, to maintain a relatively normal lifestyle.

However in May 2024, he became acutely unwell, experiencing severe stomach pains.

Kirby said: “He was afraid he was having another heart attack since the gastric pains felt similar to those in 2015, so my brother took him to A&E where an ECG ruled this out. He was given painkillers and antibiotics and advised to rest as the medical staff believed it was a stomach bug and discharged him.

"He was in unbearable pain and very uncomfortable during the following 36 hours but felt reassured that it wasn’t a heart attack.”

Tragically, Gary was found unresponsive on the morning of May 8.

Kirby said: “The ambulance arrived and did everything they could but they couldn’t bring him back.”

Kirby and her family made the decision to have an autopsy performed and results confirmed her dad suffered from acute ischaemic bowel which had been undetected. This is rare condition affects blood flow to the bowel and can be linked with other heart and circulatory conditions.

Kirby said she hoped by running the half marathon she could help other families.

Fearghal McKinney, head of BHF NI, said: “We’re so thankful to our supporters like Kirby, who have experienced such devastating loss because of heart and circulatory conditions and are determined to help try to improve the lives of others who may have to go through this.”

So far, £5,700 has been raised by the Antrim Coast half marathon runners for BHF.