IT was two days before Christmas six years ago that Alan Naylor received the phone call which was to change his life.

His doctor had the painful task of telling him he had leukaemia and if he did not go into hospital the next day - Christmas Eve - he would only have about four months to live.

What followed that phone call was countless distressing treatments, therapy and transplants.

But remarkably Alan, after going through what would break the spirit of even the strongest person, realised he had hit rock bottom and he could either give up or start climbing.

And climb he did. He is now someone who puts all his effort into helping other people who are going through what he did.

So far, he has raised more than £15,000 for Leukaemia Care and plans to keep raising cash through other events.

Alan said: "The work Leukaemia Care does is superb and holding events to raise money for them is my way of helping.

"Over the years, I've collected about £15,000, aided by the huge support I've received from friends and family, particularly my two daughters Emma and Fay. They have been wonderful."

Fund-raising stunts so far include a tandem skydive and hair shave, both accompanied by his friend, Dave Harman.

The Alan of today thinks very differently to his pre-illness days and is keen to stress to others how much they must value life.

"Now I just enjoy every day," he said. "I'm lucky to be alive and life is a wonderful thing.

"Every day we see something new or meet someone new and we don't tend to appreciate these things but we should value everything in our lives.

"I see life as a gift which I'm so grateful to still have.

"When you have faced death you do begin to value your friends and family so much more. I never realised just how many generous, kind and loving people I was surrounded by."

Out of the hundreds of people Alan is grateful to, the one who must top his list is Dr Pren Mahendra, a specialist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

He said: "I love Pren, she saved my life and she is a wonderful person."

After many visits to the United States to learn about mini-transplants, Dr Mahendra introduced them to England and the Queen Elizabeth.

Alan was treated in May 1999 and is living proof of how amazing the treatment can be.

Blood is extracted from a suitable donor, in Alan's case his sister, and passed through a machine to extract the stem cells before it is sent back to the donor. The recipient then receives the donor's stem cells.

Alan said: "Pren called me a walking miracle but I received the most amazing amount of caring and kindness and wonderful medical care."