THE sister of a north Belfast man who died from a silent heart condition has described how she will be "thinking of him at every mile" as she runs the Belfast Marathon in his memory.
Jeanette O'Neill said it was "truly heart-warming" that 16 family members and friends will join her for the 26.2 mile event to remember her brother Joe Burns.
The 23-year-old was a fit and healthy boxer who trained regularly at the gym. But in July 2014, he collapsed at his parents' home and died from the rare genetic heart defect, Long QT.
For months, his family did not know what had caused his sudden death.
Relatives were referred for testing and have since learned Mr Burns' mother Una and sister Jeanette both carry the faulty gene, an inherited condition that can cause heart rhythm disturbances.
Every month in Northern Ireland at least one young person dies from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Ms O'Neill said she hopes funds raised by them from taking part in the marathon will go towards the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which has provided them with invaluable support since her brother's death.
"We couldn’t have gotten through it without the support from BHF nurse Tracy Jardine who was just fantastic," she said.
"She was always on hand to answer questions and help us through the tests. We were getting lots of letters with test results and Tracy was always there to explain them and give us reassurance.
"It is amazing to see so many signing up to run the marathon in his memory.
"It's truly heart-warming to have so much support to honour Joe and we’ll be thinking of him at every mile on Monday."
Jayne Murray from BHF NI said: "We want to thank the Burns family and all their family and friends for their generosity.
"Thanks to the public’s kind support we can fund services such as the Miles Frost Fund and support BHF-funded researchers who have made major discoveries in these frightening heart conditions but we urgently need to fund more research to better understand these heart conditions, make more discoveries, develop new treatments and save more lives."
Please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/j-burns10 for information.
