Back on track after 10K terror 03 April 2020 An ordinary 10K run quickly turned into the scariest night of his life when sporty Glasgow teen Kieren Mooney collapsed by the side of the road. On the 27th August 2018, Kieren was rushed to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University hospital. Doctors told him he had suffered a freak heart attack and was lucky to survive. Sports-obsessed Kieren was super fit, eating well and training hard. He could barely believe what he’d been told; he was a healthy 18-year-old, recovering from a heart attack in a ward surrounded by people his grandparents’ age. Fearing the worst “I was devastated when doctors told me my heart was damaged. I just thought that’s it, life will change forever,” Kieren remembers. He was in shock. “I feared the worst – would I ever be able to get back to running with the same intensity? Sport was everything to me but now I felt totally exhausted all the time.” Sporty Glasgow teen Kieren recovers in hospital after freak heart attack. But, determined not to let his heart attack get the better of him, Kieren began physiotherapy. He also worked with a nutritionist to start his recovery. His goal was to get back to running, but he took it slow and gave himself time to recover. A heart attack does not have to mean the end of a sports career or doing what you love. Getting back on track Five and a half months after his heart attack, Kieren competed in his first race. “I’ve never been so nervous before a race in my life. I wanted to make my family and everyone who had helped me proud, and it was the best feeling in the world getting across that finish line. “It’s important to keep believing in yourself and try not to feel too frustrated or angry. It’s a slow process but you can improve.” Football fundraiser A year on from the heart attack which changed his life, Kieren decided to do something positive to mark the occasion. He held a charity football match at his beloved Alloa Athletic Football Club. Kieren says: “I felt so lucky to be able to run around a football pitch a year on from having what doctors called a ‘freak’ heart attack. We all know someone who’s had a heart attack or a stroke, so to be able to help other survivors by raising money for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland meant a lot to us all.” Due to Kieren’s tireless fundraising efforts, the charity football match raised almost £3,000. “I chose to raise money for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland because it’s a charity I’ve grown up with and I know they do a lot to help people and families like ours in Scotland. “Seeing everyone in the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland t-shirts on the day was amazing. It was an emotional and very special day. It was the perfect way to mark one year on since that traumatic day.” If you would like to support people in Scotland living with chest, heart and stroke conditions, please visit our Do Your Own Thing page for unique fundraising ideas.