A Stanbridge woman was inspired to run the London Marathon by her dad who suffered a severe cycling accident.
On Sunday, Daniella Harris raised £4435 for national charity Aspire, that provides practical help to people who have been paralysed by a spinal cord injury.
Last year, Daniella’s father, Stephen, had been on a fairly routine long cycle ride when he came off his bike on a quiet country lane near Tring, suffering a spinal cord injury. He still does not know how it happened.
The 19-year-old said: “Dad was taken into hospital on 17th February 2017 after being found unconscious in the road, still on his bike. After plenty of tests we discovered that dad had broken his neck at C1 level. This injury has left dad tetraplegic.”
The injury meant that Stephen became paralysed from the shoulders down.
Daniella used running to help her process what had happened to her dad. She is now a regular runner and trained four to five times a week in preparation for the marathon.
She completed the London marathon in four hours and 31 minutes.
She said: “It was an absolutely incredible day!
“It was tough, at the suspected temperature on the course being around 26 degrees due to the tarmac and crowding of people, but it was amazing.
“I have raised £4435 for Aspire which is a great amount.
“Aspire very quickly became prevalent in Dad’s independence whilst in rehab and has been a massive influence in his recovery so far.
“They have provided dad with a mouth mouse so that he can operate his compute using his mouth, this has helped him communicate with life outside of the hospital during his long stay so far.”
>> To make a donation to Daniella’s fundraising page, visit: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DaniellaHarris.