A seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, whose parents were told he would never walk, has raised over £10,000 climbing Britain’s tallest mountain.
Caeden Tompson, from Corby, Northamptonshire, managed to trek 1,345m (4,413ft) up the country’s highest peak, Ben Nevis, in order to raise money for disability equality charity Scope.
Born 12 weeks prematurely, Caeden has bilateral spastic cerebral palsy and has undergone intense physiotherapy to help with his symptoms, today walking using a frame or stick.
Proud mother Lisa Thompson appeared with her son on This Morning today, where she insisted that her son deserves ‘an award’ for his climb, and told the money raised is going to ‘amazing causes’.
Caeden Tompson, from Corby, Northamptonshire, (pictured climbing Ben Nevis) managed to trek 1,345m (4,413ft) up the country’s highest peak, Ben Nevis, in order to raise money for disability equality charity Scope
Proud mother Lisa Thompson (pictured) appeared with her son on This Morning today, where she insisted that her son deserves ‘an award’ for his climb
‘There are no words better than being proud,’ said Lisa. ‘Proud isn’t good enough, this boy needs an award.
‘As we were going up, he was saying “Come on, keep moving” and we all took it in turns saying “When is this going to end?”.’
The group set off at 9am, reaching the mountain’s summit at 5.30pm before returning home at 10.30pm, taking a total of 13 and a half hours to complete the entire climb.
Lisa told: ‘We started at 9 o’clock and reached the top and half past five and finally got back down at half past ten, it was a long long day.
Lisa told hosts Ruth Langsford and Eammon Holmes (both pictured) that the group set off at 9am, reaching the mountain’s summit at 5.30pm before returning home at 10.30pm
‘[We did the climb] to raise funds for others, because Caeden wants to give back for all the support and help he has had.
‘Caeden would not have had the support he has had throughout his life without the NHS and people like Scope, so the money raised is going to amazing causes.
‘The Ben Nevis thing was more of a family discussion, it had to be something challenging, so why not aim for the highest mountain in the UK?’
She went on to explain that by the time their group reached the top of the mountain, the temperature had dropped, making an already ’emotionally draining’ journey harder.
‘The top was the hardest bit’, she said. ‘Because emotionally it was draining and the temperature had dropped so much, it was making him struggle more it. He went pale, he really struggled and we started to head back down considering it was 5.30.’
Caeden’s condition causes his muscles to become tense, and spastic and Lisa told how frequent physical activity is an essential part of her son’s therapy
Caeden’s condition causes his muscles to become tense, and Lisa told how frequent physical activity is an essential part of her son’s therapy.
‘Caeden has bilateral spastic cerebral palsy’, she explained. ‘And within his body, he’s quite stiff.
‘It mostly effects his right side, because he had two bleeds a grade three and a grade four, the grade four effects his right side of his body where he uses splints to walk properly. In his ankles his tendon is really tight, his hamstrings are really tight.’
‘He has a little YouTube channel, where he shows everyone how he deals with it and the physio we do all the time and how he copes with things – but being physical all the time and doing challenges like this is super helpful for his condition.’
As for what’s next for Caeden, Lisa told: ‘We’ve been talking about it, we’d like to have people’s opinions what do they want to see Caeden do next.’