Boy, 7, climbs Ben Nevis after his parents were told he would never walk
Written by News on 31/08/2020
A seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, whose parents were told he would never walk, has climbed Britain’s tallest mountain for charity.
Caeden Thomson, from Corby, Northamptonshire, was born 12 weeks premature, and has since undergone intense physiotherapy.
On his JustGiving page, his mother Lisa said he wanted to be able to “give something back”, because “he was so lucky for all the things he has had in his life”.
Caeden trekked the 1,345m (4,413ft) to the top of Ben Nevis in the Highlands on Saturday, raising more than £8,000 for his local NHS trust and disability equality charity, Scope.
The group set off at 9am, reaching the summit at 5.30pm, before returning to the bottom five hours later.
Caeden said: “My body hurts a lot but I’m OK. It was really, really hard.
“I felt sick and exhausted at the top, and I felt exhausted but happy at the bottom!”
His mum says her son is “an absolute legend”, adding that it was “such a massive challenge and much, much harder than any of us expected”.
She continued: “There were many hard times along the way. From three-quarters of the way up, the pathway is just massive boulders and very hard to climb, and even at the top we didn’t think he would make it down.
“There were danger areas where carrying was very difficult, so Caeden did have to walk down a lot of it too.
“The temperature dropped hugely and many climbers said they were turning back. But we made it!
“We are all super-proud of him, he deserves a medal.
“Last night no-one could move or celebrate, so today we are resting up and will celebrate tonight.
“We all love Caeden so much and can’t believe his passion for getting to the top.”
(c) Sky News 2020: Boy, 7, climbs Ben Nevis after his parents were told he would never walk
