A Wrexham man is set to run a mountainous marathon in aid of his “little miracle” granddaughter.

Darren Jones 47, is aiming to raise £500 for Wrexham Maelor hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit after his granddaughter Poppy was saved by staff.

Darren’s daughter Rosie Jones was admitted to the Maelor in May with suspected appendicitis.

Poppy with marathon-running grandfather Darren Jones

Miss Jones, 19, of Rhosllanerchugog, underwent a C-section but by then little Poppy had already contracted sepsis.

This forced doctors to transfer the baby to Arrowe Park on the Wirral for treatment on an oscillator, a machine to help her breathe.

Due to further complications, however, Poppy was again transferred to Alder Hey for Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) treatment, which was successful.

Miss Jones remembered her daughter’s harrowing first days.

She said: “Poppy became very distressed during the birth.

“As the drugs wore off after the C-section, I felt really, really ill. I was still obviously really confused and I didn’t know what to think. They told me Poppy was ill too.

Sam Parry and Rosie Jones with their daughter Poppy in hospital

“We’d both contracted sepsis.”

Miss Jones explained Poppy had suffered from meconium aspiration, which occurs when a baby breathes in amniotic fluid containing meconium (fetal stool).

She said: “I didn’t know if she’d make it and I didn’t know if I’d get to see her.

“At one point at Wrexham she [Poppy] had basically stopped breathing for twenty minutes. They had to do CPR on her and they managed to revive her.”

Mum Rosie Jones with Poppy

Her father, Mr Jones described the agonising wait.

He said: “When we were there, we feared the worst. She’s a little miracle. It was terrible seeing my own daughter like that, as she was very ill too. But they saved them.”

To repay the efforts of the doctors and nurses at Maelor Hospital, Miss Jones elected to set up a GoFundMe campaign online by way of thanks.

Mr Jones, 47, a postal worker, wanted “to give something back” and volunteered to run the Brooks Snowdonia Marathon Eryri (BSME) in aid of the campaign.

A member of Wrexham Athletics Club, and seasoned charity runner, Darren will be taking on the BSME for the first time since 2011.

In preparation for the marathon event itself, Darren is aiming to overcome an injury and complete ten similar runs to practice for the event.

He said: “I’ve done the Snowdonia Marathon before and it’s a really hard one. I said I’d never do it again but seeing what the NHS workers did was something I really appreciate.

“The locals have got behind me and I’ve had a lot of help from them.”

The next BSME will take place on October 28 and Darren is hoping to come close to his former personal record of three hours and four minutes by the end of it.

Miss Jones said: “Poppy is fine now. She’s just started eating porridge! She loves her food, she loves her sleep.”

“I think the marathon is a lovely idea. Dad likes running. He’s run all his life and the Maelor will benefit from it. My partner, Poppy’s dad (Sam Parry) and I want to do something to say thank you too but we have not decided what yet.”

Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/wrexham-special-care-baby-unit

The family has also set up a fundraising evening at the Black Lion in Rhos on November 4.