A KEIGHLEY father-of-four who spent almost a year in hospital after being paralysed by a rare condition has raised nearly £4,000 in tribute to the care received.

Asam Iqbal woke from a nap in February last year unable to stand.

His condition rapidly deteriorated, and within hours he'd lost the use of his arms and couldn’t swallow.

A day later, doctors at Airedale Hospital placed Asam in a coma for six weeks.

The diagnosis was Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which affects the nerves ­– it often starts with symptoms in people’s feet and hands and can quickly spread.

Asam fought off several potentially life-threatening complications.

After five months on the intensive care unit, he could breathe for himself once again and helped by speech and language therapists regained the ability to swallow and use his voice.

He was then moved to Ward 5, a specialist stroke and neurological rehabilitation unit.

During his time on the ward he tackled a fundraising Everest triathlon challenge.

The aim was to cover the equivalent distance between Mount Everest base camp and its summit – about 20.5 kilometres – in his wheelchair, by cycling in a specialist chair and walking in the hydrotherapy pool.

His target was to complete the challenge in a month, but he accomplished it in just over a fortnight, raising £3,989 for the ward.

"I wanted to raise funds to help those who have suffered a life-changing diagnosis like myself and are being supported by the wonderful teams at Airedale," says Asam.

"I can’t put into words what the team at Airedale has done for me; nothing I do will show enough appreciation to them all."

Kathryn Webster, a physiotherapist with Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, says: "We are all extremely grateful to Asam for raising these funds. He worked really hard to complete his challenge.

"With the money, we would love to buy some specialist equipment including wheelchairs to facilitate rehabilitation, but which will also provide means of getting off the ward. There are many people who are on the ward for extended periods of time and a change of scenery can be greatly beneficial.

"Asam has made a great deal of progress from being on a ventilator unable to move any of his limbs last year. We wish him well as he continues to make progress at home surrounded by his lovely family."

People can still donate to the challenge at justgiving.com/campaign/asamseverestchallenge.