Two Feet & A Heartbeat 2026 News Clipping:
Originally posted 17/10/2026 in the Kalgoorlie Miner and Pilbara News
Link here
Author: Toby Cann
Brave Mia, 6, inspires family to walk for HeartKids
A Kalgoorlie-Boulder family whose daughter survived open-heart surgery is calling on the community to join this Sunday’s Two Feet & a Heartbeat walk.
Six-year-old Mia Pike has overcome more adversity than most people will face in their entire lives.
Facing childhood-onset heart disease and open-heart surgery, the young fighter has successfully taken the road to recovery with the help of her family, the HeartKids organisation and Perth Children’s Hospital.
On Sunday at 9am, the Pike family will join other Kalgoorlie-Boulder residents for the Two Feet & a Heartbeat walk through Karlkurla Bushland Park. The event will be a platform for community support for those affected by childhood-onset heart disease, while also raising funds for the HeartKids charity.
Mia’s father, Will Pike, said HeartKids had provided invaluable support for the family “right from the start”, and he encouraged the community to support the organisation and attend the walk.
“Right after I first reached out to them, they started providing us with resources, and then we met Tash from HeartKids and she actually gave us a lot of personal support down in Perth,” he said.
“In our case there was nothing ever wrong with Mia from the outside. It shows you just don’t know when you could find yourself affected, and to me, that’s just another reason to really try and get behind this cause.
“Because there are so many curve balls in life, if you can do something proactively and help other people who will find themselves in that situation, then what a great cause.
“Even if you haven’t registered for the walk, if you turn up on the day it can all be sorted then.”
Although the experience was deeply frightening for the family, Mr Pike is happy to report that Mia is back to her energetic, joyful self.
“She’s top of the world, absolutely brilliant,” he said.
“If she didn’t have a scar, you wouldn’t know there had been anything wrong. She does cartwheels, she does dancing twice a week, she’s just flat out.”
The happiness of seeing his daughter back to her normal self has spurred Mr Pike’s passion for HeartKids and for any other efforts to raise awareness and funds to combat a condition affecting about 250,000 Australians.
“It’s not just about those that have been affected, but sadly those that maybe one day will find themselves with people in that situation. So to support the kids and the community itself, it’s just an incredible thing to do in that sense,” he said.
“I think there will be a good crowd of people there and I think it will show the Kalgoorlie community spirit.”
That community spirit is something Mr Pike saw first-hand in Perth, when his daughter’s room carried a familiar name.
“When we first went to Perth we stayed at the Ronald McDonald House, and the room that we stayed in was actually sponsored by Billet Engineering,” he said.
“I thought there must be more than one, but no, that’s Billet Engineering, a small business from Kalgoorlie, putting it out there.
“When we got home I reached out to them and said thank you. They asked me, ‘What room did you stay in?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ They said, ‘Oh, we’ve got two rooms.’ I mean, wow.
“They’re not even trying to promote it, they’re just great ambassadors for Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”
