A WEE COUNTY dad is set to run the Alloa Half Marathon for an eighth time this weekend in a bid to celebrate the care his young son received as a baby.

David Brown and wife Claire gave birth to Daniel in 2012 before being plunged into despair and uncertainty when a midwife noticed an issue with his heart.

Within hours, Daniel was on life support at Yorkhill Children's Hospital – now called the Glasgow Children's Hospital – before undergoing heart surgery just two days later.

Thankfully, everything went well and Daniel was back home in Alloa within a week with his family and has since fully recovered.

David decided there and then that, given the "world class" care provided at the hospital, he would run future Alloa Half Marathons to raise money.

The dad said: "I had done two half marathons just for fitness and fun with my mates then thought I might as well do it for a good cause.

"It's good to raise money, people have been so generous since I started doing it."

David has already donated an amazing £5,000 to the hospital since taking up the fundraising drive.

Speaking of the facilities and care offered at the world-renowned hospital, David said: "It is world class. The skill the doctors and surgeons have is amazing.

"A lot of people out there have negative opinions of the NHS, but I can't fault anyone there."

The father-of-four added that he and his wife realise that other families in the hospital have it much worse than them – and for many, there never is a positive outcome.

"If you want your child to have a heart condition, then it is a straightforward one you want," David continued.

"There are families in there who are a lot worse off and do not get a positive outcome.

"The care and dedication they give to people is second to none."

Daniel is now fully recovered at home and lives the normal life of a six-year-old, playing football and games, and enjoying school at Sunnyside primary.

And although to some a half-marathon is daunting, he said running is the easy part.

He added: "Training is the easy part, it's the fundraising and reliance upon the generosity and kindness of a small band of regular donors that needs to be celebrated here.

"The motivation for me is to try and make a small contribution to a great cause and remember that there are many children and families going through similar, or much worse, situations and that they don't always get a positive outcome like Daniel did.

"The other thing to celebrate is the fantastic role that all NHS staff played in giving Daniel a positive outcome – from the community midwife, the staff at FVRH and the specialist teams at Yorkhill."

Anyone wishing to support David's fundraising effort, can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-brown260.