A North Kensington woman will run a marathon next month for a six-year-old girl stricken with leukemia.
Mental health worker Donna David, 35, of Bevington Road, is in training for this year's London Marathon which she will run for the charity Children With Leukemia.
She was inspired her friend's daughter Myla Cole Newell, six, of Park Walk, Chelsea, who contracted the blood disease two-and-a-half years ago.
"I'm not a runner," she said. "Last summer I couldn't run for ten minutes.
"Now I run at least four times a week. I will finish the race even if I have to crawl over the finish line."
Myla, who attends Bousfield School in South Bolton Road, Earl's Court, receives chemotherapy as well as drugs injected into her spinal cord as part of her treatment.
On top of this, she has been suffering a chest infection since Christmas and has not yet recovered, which might mean she needs the gruelling medical treatment for longer.
The drugs give the little girl mood swings and huge changes in her appetite, meaning she is not always able to go school with her friends.
"What's amazing is that she has her good days and her bad days and she just deals with it," said Ms David.
"As long as you can explain it to her she's fine with it. She's amazing."
As part of her training, Ms David runs along the Great Western Canal and in Holland Park, Ilchester Place, Kensington.
Donna became friends with Myla's mother Clare while they worked at the Tabernacle Community Centre in Powis Square, Notting Hill, leading childrens' art workshops on Saturdays.
Ms David said that since she found out about Myla's illness she started regularly looking after the little girl, dressing up in Ms David's old carnival costumes, playing with her cats Leon and Trouble and painting each others' faces.
Spending time with Myla meant her mother could teach an art class for the over 60s in Chelsea.
"This gave her an outlet while she was being amazingly strong and brave, dealing with Myla's illness," explained Ms David, who has raised £600 so far but hopes to net £3,000 for charity.
To sponsor Ms David go to www.bmycharity.com/donnadavid09
