MORE than 25 years ago he was a patient himself after being admitted to the hospital as a three-year-old with a mysterious bout of stomach pains.
Now Scots cyclist and adventurer, Mark Beaumont – famed for his transcontinental expeditions and cheating death when his boat capsized in the North Atlantic – is lending his support to the Yorkhill Children's Foundation and its I Heart Yorkhill campaign.
Mr Beaumont said he was more than happy to support the foundation, which is dedicated to raising money for Yorkhill sick children's hospital in Glasgow, after his own experience of the care. He said: "I was three years old. I was living just outside Glasgow at the time and I had incredible stomach pains, but being three years old I couldn't really explain or figure out what was wrong.
"So they took me in and cut me open thinking I had appendicitis, but as it turned out I didn't.
"It was just children's stomach pains, but because they'd already cut me open they took out my appendix as a precaution.
"My mum always talks quite fondly of how great their care was and I've got good links with the city anyway having come back and graduated from Glasgow University."
He is due to meet staff and visit the hospital this week ahead of delivering a speech at the foundation's Yorkhill dinner at the Glasgow Hilton on Friday.
Mr Beaumont, who lives with his wife in Perth and turns 30 in January, said the cause was closer to his heart than ever.
He said: "I'm hoping to have family in years to come, and while you don't want to think that you'll need the direct care of a hospital like that, I did when I was young. So whenever the opportunity is there it's certainly something I'd be happy to fly the flag for."
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