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Teens take on 10k challenge after health struggles

Lauren Hirst & Stuart Pollitt
BBC News, Manchester
MRCH Issie is at the Champions for Children gala dinner. She is posing for the camera with her right hand making a peace sign and she is smiling. She is wearing a white dress embellished with pearlsMRCH
Issie said she was hoping to walk across the finish line

Six teenagers who have faced life-changing health challenges are set to take part in the Great Manchester Run in wheelchairs.

The group are preparing to complete the 10km (6.2 mile) race on Sunday with the support of staff from the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Among them are Issie and Ayyub, who were admitted to hospital last year due to rare illnesses.

The charity challenge will mark an important milestone in their recovery.

Issie Issie is ventilated and lying on a hospital bed in ICU surrounded by medical equipment. She had a teddy bear positioned next to her right hand and is wearing a hospital gown. There is a banner hanging above he bed which reads "Isobel"Issie
Issie has undergone three brain surgeries following the brain haemorrhage

In February 2024, Issie, 15, was admitted to hospital with a brain haemorrhage.

"It caused me to be in ICU for a month and I've had three brain surgeries," she said.

"When I was on ICU they didn't think I would be able to walk."

Issie was recently discharged but continues to undergo intense rehab as an outpatient to relearn how to walk.

"I can't walk the whole 10km because of fatigue but I am going to do the last 1km on my own," said the 15-year-old.

MRCH Ayyub is in his hospital room. There is a bed in the background and he is smiling at the camera with his tracheostomy tube in viewMRCH
Ayyub is undergoing intensive rehabilitation in hospital

Ayyub, 16, who is an inpatient, was admitted to hospital in March 2024 with acute flaccid myelitis, a rare condition that affects the spinal cord.

"I developed like a little bit of a cold, which ended up leaving me paralysed," he said.

"The cold I had ended up attacking my whole spinal cord, leaving me in ICU for three months.

"Doctors said that I was going to be ventilated for the rest of my life, but I ended up getting my breathing back so I've become a lot stronger since then. It's a life-changing experience."

Ayyub is hoping to self-propel his wheelchair across the Great Manchester Run finish line.

Emily Davies, a specialist paediatric physio at the hospital, said: "All of our patients are incredibly inspiring and incredibly resilient brave people and I definitely feel inspired by my patients."

Ayyab Ayyub is ventilated and is lying down in a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown in ICU. He is surrounded by medical equipmentAyyab
Ayyub spent three months in the hospital's ICU

The team are raising money for the hospital's youth service, which they all used during their time as patients.

Molly Bradley, a youth worker at the hospital, said: "What we're providing is someone to speak to, a safe adult they can talk to about all the difficulties that come with being in a hospital.

"Being a teenager is tough at any time of their life, but being a teenager in hospital and not getting to go and see your friends and do everything that everyone else is doing can be really upsetting for young people."

Ayyub said: "The money for the trust will be the best thing because the youth service has helped a lot with my mental health in general."

Issie said this was a cause close to heart as "the money will go to help other young people".

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