Daniel Swift, from Widnes, is on the edge of raising a staggering £10,000 for The Walton Centre Charity.

Alongside friend Alex Hudson, the two have spent the year running and fundraising to finally end their challenge on the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris on Sunday 7 April. The pair are mere pounds away from reaching their £10,000 target. Daniel and Alex were inspired to fundraise for the specialist neurosciences Trust’s charity after Daniel’s dad, Paul, underwent complex spinal surgery to remove an abscess from his spinal cord, close to his brain stem.

Daniel said: “Dad had a sensitive part of his scalp one morning. Within a week, he was paralysed down the one side. The Walton Centre moved so quickly to help him and, if not for their efforts, I would be without my dad right now.

“I was blown away by the excellent care he received over the months after his treatment. Staff on the ICU and Dott ward, along with the surgical team led by Miss Maggie Lee, were all incredible. Quite simply, they saved my dad’s life. So fundraising for this fantastic organisation is the least I can do.”

Both Daniel and Alex have been training hard, completing the Manchester Half Marathon last Autumn and Aintree Half Marathon last February. Their fundraising efforts have been boosted by the help of friend and Paul’s employer, Joy Knight, former Managing Director and owner of UK Food Certification Ltd, whose clients have made a huge contribution.

Daniel continued: “Training is going well and we’re confident we will make it through the Paris streets in good time. We just need a little push in donations to get us to the £10k target.”

Head of Fundraising, Madeleine Fletcher, said: “Both Daniel and Alex are smashing their year of fundraising for The Walton Centre Charity. They are so close to their target, and we can’t thank them enough. Finishing their efforts in Paris will be amazing and we will cheer them every step of the way! £10,000 will go so far towards projects to help enhance and improve patient experience, treatment and care at the hospital.”

Check out their fundraising efforts and support Dan and Alex on their fundraising page.