Mihika’s Mighty Bike Ride Raises £2,300 for Sick Kids

A grateful 10-year-old girl who received specialist care for an extremely rare disorder has raised £2,393 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, after taking on a three-day cycling challenge in France and riding over 126 miles. 

When Mihika Menon was born she struggled to feed and when her mum, Ash, felt Mihika going floppy, she knew something wasn’t right. As a GP, Ash’s mind raced to diagnose her daughter’s condition but nothing seemed to fit her symptoms. It wasn’t until Mihika was transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital at three-days-old that she was diagnosed with a condition called Congenital Hyperinsulinaemia.  

The condition, which is so rare it only affects one in 50,000 babies, meant Mihika’s body wasn’t regulating the amount of insulin her pancreas was making which resulted in dangerously low blood sugar. Mihika was given a feeding tube and medication to help slow down insulin production, allowing her body to take the nutrition it needed. 

Mihika spent four weeks at Birmingham Children’s Hospital until Ash and Mihika’s dad, Sajith, who is also a medic, had learnt how to use her feeding tube and how to manage her condition at home. Over the next few years, Mihika returned to the hospital for follow up appointments as well as a few admissions under endocrinology, gastroenterology, and the cardiology department as a side effect of her condition and medication meant her heart was struggling. 

As Mihika grew her symptoms began to improve until, to Ash and Sajith’s relief, doctors concluded that her condition was completely resolved, and when Mihika was nine, she was discharged. 

More recently, Mihika began asking her parents why she had spent so much time in hospital and wanted to know more about her condition. They told Mihika all about Congenital Hyperinsulinaemia, the wonderful care she’d had at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the odds she had defied, including how her condition could have meant an operation to remove her pancreas. 

Inspired and in awe by her own story and the care she received, Mihika decided she wanted to do something to give back to the hospital and the staff who looked after her and settled upon her mammoth cycling challenge. Mihika and her family joined an organised trip to France and began their 126-mile ride. 

On each of the three days of the ride, through rain or shine, Mihika, her parents and the group of cyclists covered around 40 miles. As the youngest rider in the group, Ash was worried that Mihika might not complete the distance but she pedalled through, impressing and outriding some of the more seasoned adult riders. Many of the group were so inspired by Mihika’s story and her determination that they donated to her cause. 

Ash said: “Life could have been very different for Mihika had it not been for Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the specialist care she received from just days old. We’re eternally grateful for the second chance she was given by the incredible medical teams there but we’re also so proud of everything Mihika has overcome.  

“Mihika chose a very difficult challenge but she didn’t see it that way – she was just so proud to be doing something to give back and say thank you to the doctors and nurses who supported her and us, during such a difficult time of our lives.”  

Miranda Williams, Director of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Mihika’s passion and determination are truly admirable, and we’re so impressed by the way she tackled a challenge that many adults would have struggled to complete. 

“We’re so grateful for Mihika’s support and the incredible funds she raised for our charity help us continue doing more for the 100,000 sick kids our hospital treats every single year.”