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Now seven, Maia, who was born prematurely with holes between the left and right chambers of her heart, was among thousands of fundraisers in the RBC Race for the Kids in Hyde Park, London.

Maia had been set to undergo interim heart surgery, but doctors struggled to intubate her.

They discovered her trachea was too narrow, so performed a pioneering procedure to strengthen her windpipe to help her breathe.

She also had surgery to control the blood flow in her heart.

During her recovery Maia almost died twice but is now doing well.

She still goes to the hospital for monitoring, but her mum Meera says she’s “thriving and loving life”.

Meera added: “I am so grateful for the care that Maia received at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“The slide tracheoplasty was developed through research there and it saved Maia’s life.

“We are so lucky to have a place like it where experts perform surgeries and conduct research to save lives. We need to donate so we can help more children.”

Maia has recently launched her own KidsYouTube channel (MinskyKidsEducationalVideos), inspired by her autistic younger brother.

She wants to create fun learning children’s videos for him, as well as other children around the world.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity hosted the race for the 13th time as part of the global RBC Race for the Kids, 17 running events in support of 35 children and youth charities in 19 countries.

More than 325,000 participants worldwide have raised more than £49million.

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