A YOUNG leukemia patient has returned to the classroom thanks to a charity which offers help not provided by the authorities.
Lewis Kedwards was left unable to walk the 25 minutes to or from school or the trips between lessons due to his treatment.
His mum, Sam, managed to get Lewis a free wheelchair but a wheel fell off leaving them in the same position as before.
After hearing about his plight, Tamworth charity, Help Us Help Others, offered to buy Lewis a wheelchair that he can use to get himself around.
Now the 12-year-old has been able to return to school at Tudor Grange Academy in Kingshurst and is happy to see his friends again.
Sam said: “I don’t drive and it’s a 25-minute walk to school.
“Even if I could get him there, he needed a wheelchair for getting around during the day.
“Someone recommended Help Us Help Others and they delivered a brand-new wheelchair. It’s been a real godsend.
“Lewis can propel himself in this one, rather than having to rely on people pushing him, so it’s given him more independence as well.
“He was so happy; he went straight outside to test it.”
Lewis was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in June after Sam took him to A&E when he started getting pains in his ankles and feet.
He’s a keen football player and had played a lot that week, so Sam thought he might have suffered some sort of injury.
But after 35 hours and lots of tests, the family were given the devastating news. While the leukaemia is in the ‘chronic’ stage, it can be managed with chemotherapy tablets which Lewis will now have to take for life.
Jamie, a Help Us Help Others trustee, said: “When we heard about the tough time he was having, we just knew we had to help him and his family. It’s great to hear the wheelchair is already making a big difference to Lewis’s life because that’s what this charity is all about.”
