DONALD Bradbury would love to walk his daughter down the aisle.

And he's hoping by the time his 22 year-old daughter Toni ties the knot he'll have a mobile oxygen machine which will enable him to do just that.

The 50-year-old who was brought up in the Plank Lane area of Leigh has a rare medical condition. He was born with dextrocardia which means his heart is on the right side of his body, instead of the left, and connecting blood vessels are in the wrong place.

The congenital condition affects his breathing and over time Mr Bradbury has become increasingly dependent on a home supply tank of oxygen which means his movements are restricted.

But he's hoping he will be able to walk alongside daughter Toni and give her away at her wedding to fiance Paul Bexon in August and medical centre staff have launched an appeal to help ensure he can do just that.

"It would mean everything," said Mr Bradbury.

Toni agreed: "I want my dad to walk me down the aisle. It would make it the perfect day."

Now an appeal has been launched to raise £2,500-£3,000 for a mobile strap-on oxygen machine, which would grant Mr Bradbury the freedom to go out and about far more freely.

Mr Bradbury was given information about the mobile supply possibility by medical centre staff who have launched an appeal so miracle man Donald can make his youngest daughter's day.

His rare condition resulted in complications through a lack of oxygen to his organs.

The former Leigh St Peter's School schoolboy said: "It's just one of those things. No one knows why. When I was born at Leigh Infirmary they said I was dead, but then another doctor came along and said my heart was on the wrong side and my pulse was very low but I was still kicking.

"I have been given four 'deadlines' and I have lived through them all. The last one was when I was 21. They can't tell me how long I've got. It's day by day.

"I have lived with that all my life. You've got to get on with it, you can't just mope around.

"Whatever happens I'm determined to walk down that aisle. Toni says she won't get married unless I do. I could possibly do so without the mobile supply but I would need to stop about four times down the aisle and afterwards that would be it, I would have to return home for 15 hours link-up to my oxygen supply."

As a lad in Winward Street, regular chest infections meant he missed a lot of schooling and often ended up in hospital. Which meant no swimming, rugby or football at Leigh St Peter's junior or Windermere Road County Secondary schools.

Despite a multitude of setbacks Donald was determined to get a job and worked at Tunnicliffe's Mill until dust caused respiratory problems and forced him to quit. Next he got a job at Taylor's bakery in Leigh filling trays and pies.

At 20 he went to Nottingham intending to stay for a week but met his wife-to-be who was working in a restaurant and 30 years later he's still there.

He was still in his 20s and working at a warehouse in the city when a bout of pneumonia put him in hospital for ten weeks and he has not be able to work for more than 20 years.

Father-of-four Mr Bradbury, who lives with his wife, Janet, in Bakersfield, said: "I have a lot of tiredness. My nails and lips go blue when I come off the oxygen tank.

"I feel washed out. There is no colour in me at all, I go pure white. I am restricted. I can't walk upstairs, I have a chair lift."

Depending on the weather, Mr Bradbury is able to go out for short trips, getting around town on a mobility scooter. But days out, holidays, family gatherings or even a trip to the pub are out.

He is on oxygen for a minimum 15 hours every day. He begins at 6pm and has a constant supply while asleep until 9am the next morning.

His condition also determines his diet.

He cannot have caffeine and has to be careful not to eat too much spicy food. Alcohol is banned as his daily cocktail of medication includes beta blockers, six strong antibiotic capsules each morning and another six at night. Mrs Bradbury, 48, is grateful for the support she gets from their four daughters.

She said: "It's hard but we have the kids here, they come and help."

With so much time on his hands, her husband tries not to languish in front of the television.

As an amateur radio operator, he received home tuition and has sat an exam.

Tests have been carried out by doctors at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire to assess whether he is suitable for a compicated and risky double lung and heart transplant.

The portable oxygen machine is not available on the NHS, so a fund-raising appeal has been launched in time for the August wedding.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the appeal fund should call nurse Angela Lunney on 0115 9501854.