A POSTMAN who battled back from “extreme” chronic kidney disease is raising money for the hospital fund that saved his life.
Royal Mail worker Phil Gordon, who lives in Eastrop, hopes to generate as much funding for the North Hampshire Medical Fund (NHMF) - a charity that buys vital equipment for Basingstoke hospital.
Six years ago, the 38-yearold fell ill and forced to take nine months off work.
But despite numerous ups and downs during his “very long and hard recovery”, Mr Gordon managed to make a full recovery - something he thanks the staff at Basingstoke hospital for.
And after a chance encounter with a surgeon who helped save his life last year, the Hatch Warren Runner member decided spend the year fundraising for the hospital’s charity.
“I will never forget the two people who helped me through my recovery,” Mr Gordon told The Gazette.
“Mr Richard Hindley and Dr Raj Kumar were absolutely brilliant and helped me no end through that big old battle, so when I bumped into my old surgeon, he remarked about how well I looked.
“I told him I run and he said I should take on the London Marathon to support the NHMF.”
To cap off his fundraising year, which has seen Mr Gordon raise nearly £3,000 through a variety of fundraising events including a charity football match and quiz, he will now take on the gruelling 26.2-mile run through London.
And now he hopes he can crack out his PHILPOT, his personal take of Mo Farah’s famous Mobot pose, at the end of the run.
“It’s going to be a bit nostalgic running through the streets of London where my family grew up,” Mr Gordon said.
“I wasn’t aware the hospital had a charity. But when I found out they did, I had to do something for them.”
He added: “I have never done any fundraising before, but they were so brilliant for me I really wanted to help them.”
To support Mr Gordon’s fundraising appeal, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/phil-jgordon.