9:28 am, April 26, 2023
A car salesman who ran last weekend’s London Marathon for his young niece who suffers from a rare liver disease has reached his fundraising goal.
Lewis Bishop, business manager at Lookers Land Rover Colchester, raised almost £3,000 for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation by taking part in the famous race.
He was raising money for the charity due to the help it has provided his four-year-old niece, Delilah, who suffers from biliary atresia.
The rare disease, which affects around one in 17,000 babies, causes a loss of liver tissue and function as a result of bile building up in the organ.
Bishop, who previously worked for Lookers Renault Colchester, set himself of a goal of raising £2,000 which he has since smashed through.
At time of writing (Apr 26), his total stands at close to £2,800 – 140 per cent of his original target.
He also beat another of his aims – to complete the course in under five hours – by going round in three hours, 58 minutes and 19 seconds.
The performance placed him 6,226th in the 18-39 category and 17,471st overall.
However, while the time may have defied even his own expectations, for Bishop, 30, the race was always about so much more.
(Bishop and his four-year-old niece Delilah)
Speaking to the Daily Gazette and Essex Standard, he said: ‘Delilah is such a cheeky character and always has a smile on her face, you would never know that she has a liver disease.
‘CLDF have provided us with so much information that it’s given us all a greater knowledge and understanding of Delilah’s condition.
‘It’s not just about the support they have given so far, it’s the fact that they will be there for us all moving forward.
‘Childhood liver disease is a lifelong condition and the fact that those closest to her have a support network through this charity is very important to me.’
Delilah, four, was just six weeks old when she was diagnosed with biliary atresia.
Around 80 per cent of those diagnosed with the incurable disease require a liver transplant by the time they are 20 and she now requires daily medication, as well as biannual visits to Kings College Hospital in order to manage the condition.
