A Birmingham dad has raised over £7,700 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity after using nothing but pedal power to ride from Birmingham to London, following his son’s life-saving treatment for multiple complex conditions.

Masood ‘Max’ Ali took to the saddle for the 154 mile journey on a mission to raise £5,000 after spending many months in the hospital with his now two-year-old son, Kayden.

Kayden has Down Syndrome and after complications during his birth, he was rushed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he was also diagnosed with Atrioventricular Septal Defect (a hole in the heart) and Hirschprung’s disease, which affected his intestines, meaning that he couldn’t pass stool by himself. He was also having trouble swallowing, and needed to be fed through a tube in his nose.

At just a few weeks old, Kayden was taken for a major operation called an intestinal bypass. Surgeons created a stoma which would allow Kayden’s body to get rid of waste until he was big and strong enough to have a second operation to remove the affected intestine and reconnect his bowel. To add to the family’s turmoil, Kayden also needed an operation to fix the holes in his heart.

Max and his wife, Tania, waited anxiously for the day that their little boy would be strong enough to undergo his operations. They took shifts staying with Kayden and, during this time, they were awestruck by the fantastic care the nurses and doctors at the hospital provided not only their son, but them too.

When Kayden was three-months-old he was finally strong enough for his heart operation and after another spending three months in recovery on the ward, Max and Tania were finally able to take their baby home for the first time.

Kayden has since had his operation to remove the affected section of the intestine and his stoma reversed, and although he is still struggling to feed, his heart is going strong. Forever grateful for the life-saving treatment Kayden received and for all the care he will need in the future, Max was inspired to come out of his 20-year cycling retirement to give back to the hospital. It was an ambitious challenge for Max, who was himself waiting for an operation to fix his fused ankle.

Max said: “There aren’t enough words to show my appreciation for everything Birmingham Children’s Hospital has done for Kayden, so I got on my bike to show it instead.

“Starting at the hospital, it took me three, 10-hour-days to cycle to London, and it was quite an eventful journey! On the first day I got a puncture and then the battery on my bike light ran out, so I had to cycle through the pitch black. It was hard work, having not cycled for so long, but I’m so proud of myself and the amount that I managed to raise.”

Miranda Williams, Head of Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re so grateful to Max for taking on such an epic journey for us. He really went over and above to raise money for us, and that’s exactly what our hospital colleagues do every day for their patients. The incredible amount he’s raised will certainly go a long way towards helping us do more for the 90,000 sick kids we treat every year.”