A MAN determined to show his gratitude for the skill and care given to his nephew who is currently in Southampton General Hospital has raised £3000 for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after completing The Great South Run on Sunday.
Daniel Broom from Bridport was so impressed by the skill and care given to his nephew Luke May that he was only too happy to volunteer for the 10 mile race around Portsmouth when they asked for volunteers.
Luke was only six weeks old when he was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia and rushed to Southampton in a critically ill condition in June where he received a life saving operation. He is still in hospital some 20 weeks later having had ten major operations including the removal of his right lung, and is set to be there for a few months more.
Despite some knee problems that restricted his training to ensure he could run on the day, Dan completed the course in 1:28:38, inside the target time he had set himself of 1 ½ hours.
The course took over 21,000 runners around the naval base and finished with a two mile run into a very strong wind along Southsea seafront.
Dan who was in the first 4000 to finish the race, which included top international athletes, was more than pleased with his run, but more so with the money he had raised for the charity.
“I had set myself a target of 1 ½ hours for the run and was very pleased to have completed the course inside the time particularly as we had to run into the westerly gale force winds for the first two miles, which wasn’t so bad when you are fresh, but then also the final two miles along Southsea seafront.
“However I am particularly delighted to have managed to raise so much money for The Friends of PICU to show our families gratitude for the wonderful care that has been shown to Luke. He has had so much to endure, but is a real fighter, and I am so proud of him.
“I would like to thank everybody that has donated to the cause. I am amazed by the number of people who have taken an interest, many who have donated online who I do not know, and I would like to tell them how much it helped me in completing the race despite my “dodgy knees”.
If anyone would still like to donate to the charity they can do so by going to http://www.justgiving.com/Daniel-Broom