The last few months have been a real struggle for little Paige Stewart, but thanks to an anonymous donation, her dream of walking on her own is one step closer.

The five-year-old from Rainham, has cerebral palsy and her parents, Julie and David, have been trying to raise £45,000 for surgery in America which will help her walk unaided.

The fundraising total reached the halfway point on July 3, but her dream still seemed a long way off until last week, when a generous donor gifted Paige £20,000.

Her mother Julie said they can now see the light at the end of the tunnel: “It’s surreal to be honest, and a massive shock. It’s overwhelming and it took a while to sink in.

“We don’t know how to thank them enough, we can say thank you thousands of times but it doesn’t feel it’s enough compared to what they’ve given us for Paige.”

The donation came from someone who had been following Paige’s story, and had seen how poorly the little girl was becoming.

Their gift means that the Stewarts can now afford the surgery and they expect to have a date for the operation in the next three weeks - which could be as early as January.

The surgery will be carried out at St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri where they have doctors who specialise in the operation Paige needs.

Julie added: “Paige is really excited about the fact she’ll be able to walk into the lunch hall holding her friend’s hand.

“She knows she’s going to have to work really hard but she’s determined. At least she won’t be in pain anymore and that’s the best thing really.”

The family are now trying to raise the final £3,000 they need for visas, flights, accommodation and then the equipment and physiotherapy Paige will need when she returns home.

The Medway Messenger is backing Paige’s fundraising campaign and reporter Clare Freeman is doing a long-distance challenge walk to help raise money.

Clare is doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on Saturday, September 5 - a 24-mile walk across the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. The aim is to complete the route in under 12 hours.

Anyone who wishes to join Clare on the walk should contact her on cfreeman@thekmgroup.co.uk or 01634 227821.

Follow Paige on Facebook or Just Giving.