Masterton parents Tarn and Rusty Franklin started fundraising for gravely ill 10-year-old Grace Yeats after imagining their own children enduring the same disease.
Three months ago Grace went home with a headache from her St Mary's School classroom in Carterton. She was flown to Starship Hospital in Auckland with a brain disease that left her unable to move or talk.
Doctors are yet to diagnose the condition and Grace's family have remained at her bedside. Mrs Franklin said Grace's plight had deeply touched the couple, who have three young children.
"To think of such a condition striking down any one of our children is terrifying. To one day have a perfectly healthy child and have that happen out of the blue like that. It really hits home," Mrs Franklin said.
The couple own Masterton Pit Stop and have pledged to donate a percentage from each vehicle service completed at the business.