Young boxing star backs children’s heart campaign

Tommy Frank, 20, the county’s top amateur bantamweight, had the corrective surgery to mend a hole in his heart when he was only five. Without it, the rising star, of Intake, Sheffield, would not have progressed to secure a place in the top 10 in the UK for his weight.

He took up boxing aged 12 at the famous Sheffield Boxing Centre in Hillsborough and is veteran of 28 fights, winning the Yorkshire batamweight title four times. He plans eventually to turn professional. As an ambassador for the Leeds-based charity Heart Research UK, he is promoting its Helpling Little Hearts campaign to improve rehabilitation of youngsters who have had heart surgery.

“My heart operation gave me a new lease of life,” he said.

“I had always been fairly active, but the operation has allowed me to carry on with my life. The only reminder of the operation I still have are the stitches on my chest.”

The campaign has funded research to develop a rehabilitation toolkit for children who have undergone heart surgery or are living with a congenital heart condition.

Adults hospitalised with heart problems leave with full information about the diet, exercise and lifestyle regime they should follow, but with youngsters this rarely happens. The tailor-made exercise prescription gives children and their families guidelines which can also be used in school.

The boxer said: “It is not easy to know what you can do as a child after heart surgery, so a prescription and toolkit that helps parents to understand this will make a big difference.”

The charity’s national director Barbara Harpham said: “Tommy is a great example to youngsters who have had heart problems, as he did, to show that they can exercise. They should have the same opportunities as other youngsters to be active to help them live a healthier, happier and longer life.”