Seven years ago Hazel Davison was struck by a rare disease which left her paralysed from the neck down.

When she starting suffering pins and needles in her legs, little did she know it would leave her confined to a wheelchair within the year and unable to do anything for herself.

But through treatment and determination, the former bank manager has been able to get back on her feet and now wants to help others. She will be taking part in Parallel London, the world’s first fully-accessible games, on Sunday.

She will be taking part in a 10k walk/push with her niece and nephew, Michael and Lily Dowding, who both have cerebral palsy.

The siblings inspired a fundraising campaign last year so their parents could adapt their home Truro Road, Gravesend.

Hazel, of Winston Drive, Wainscott, has an electric wheelchair but is hoping to walk some of the route using sticks with the help of her friend Sarah Brodie-Clarkson. Michael, 10, and Lily, eight, will be pushed by their mum and dad Anthony and Kelly.

The team is raising money for Whizz-Kidz, a charity which aims to transform the lives of disabled children by providing equipment, support and life skills.

Hazel said: “This cause is very close to our hearts as all three of us have the need of wheelchairs and understand the independence that it brings.

“We are going to try to walk some of the course but will have our wheelchairs with us to use as well.”

Hazel started suffering with pins and needles in April 2008 and by December, she was unable to move. At first doctors thought she had motor neurone disease but she was later diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).

The neurological disorder, which causes sensory loss and weakness, affects fewer than three in a million people.

Hazel spent four months in King’s College Hospital, London , followed by extensive treatment at a rehabilitation centre.

After being discharged she had to move in with her parents and needed the help of carers four times. Through chemotherapy and intensive physiotherapy, Hazel’s condition has improved.

She is still paralysed from her knees down but she can use an electric wheelchair and walk with the aid of sticks. “I’m living back at my own house now and I can do a lot more than I could. But it’s the little things that you don’t think of, like doing up buttons, that I can’t do,” she said.

“I’ve got no balance so I can’t walk without sticks and having someone with me. But I do physio on my own and swim.”

Hazel has been unable to return to work, but now volunteers as a reading helper at Hilltop and Balfour schools.

Both schools have supported her when she, along with her niece and nephew, raised £4,500 for Whizz-Kids – enough to pay for an electric wheelchair.

This time around, the trio were hoping to raise £750 which will be matched by Hazel’s former bosses at Barclays.

Hazel said: “My family want to express our thanks for the help we have been given from doctors, carers, nurses and all of those who helped with my brother’s property fundraising."

To sponsor Hazel, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Hazel-Davison