BBC's Mike Apps completes marathon in memory of daughter

Mike Apps was raising money for Southampton's paediatric intensive care unit (PICU)

A BBC journalist has completed a marathon in memory of his daughter, who died at 10 weeks old from an "incredibly rare" heart condition.

Mike Apps took part in the Southampton Marathon on behalf of the city's paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), which cared for his daughter Olivia.

Talking before the race, he said he would "very much feel Olivia is with me" whilst taking on the course.

Organisers hoped the event would raise about £4m for various charities.

Mr Apps, who is a journalist on BBC South Today, said: "I think I'm just really proud that I can run and represent my daughter."

Katie and Mike Apps both praised the work of PICU

A few weeks after Olivia died, genetic test results revealed that she had an "incredibly rare" genetic heart condition, Mr Apps said.

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"At 12 days old we noticed that her breathing was irregular - we called an ambulance, she was taken to hospital and then transferred to PICU, where it was discovered that the left side of her heart barely functioned at all," he explained.

His wife Katie added that it was "quite scary at the beginning".

Their daughter Olivia had a rare genetic heart condition

"Olivia had lots of different wires and we were a bit worried about holding her but they made that possible for us which was really important," she said.

Friends of PICU is the charity arm of the unit, which is based at Southampton General Hospital.

Olivia was taken to hospital at 12 days old, after her breathing became irregular

Dr Iain Macintosh, who is a consultant at PICU, said with the money raised "we buy equipment, we help with training, we support families who are in distress".

"People arrive in the middle of the night without anything, and we've got stuff for them," he said.

After reaching the finish line of Sunday's race, Mr Apps said he was "proud" and "relieved", adding that he "did not know Southampton had so many hills".

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