back back
A
SOUTHAMPTON youngster who was told he would never walk has said a Christmas
thank you to the Saints star who inspired him to trek unaided around the team's
pitch. Thomas Whiley, 11, suffers from Lowe Syndrome, meaning he is mentally and
physically handicapped, visually impaired and has brittle bones and failing
kidneys. He was
not expected to live past the age of five and the youngster's parents Tracey and
Robert, from Greenlea Crescent, Bassett, were told he would never walk. But ever
since the little boy was taken to his first football match two years ago, he has
yearned to be like his hero James Beattie. So when his dad told him that if he
wanted to be like James Beattie he would have to walk the whole way round the
football pitch, that is exactly what Thomas - a pupil at Cedar Special School -
did. The
Daily Echo then arranged for the youngster to meet his hero and he even had a
kick about with Beattie after a training session last month.Tracey, 38, said she
and Robert were so thrilled with all the support from the soccer star that they
wanted to say thank you.She and Thomas took a Christmas card and a box of
chocolates to the ground at Marchwood for the player. Tracey said: "They've
done so much for us we just wanted to say thank you.'' SOUTHAMPTON youngster Thomas
Whiley was the envy of all his schoolmates when he was invited to meet his
footballing hero James
Beattie The 11-year-old, who suffers from
Lowe syndrome, is physically and mentally handicapped, visually impaired and has
brittle bones and failing kidneys. His parents were told Thomas, from Greenlea
Cres-cent, Bassett, would not live past the age of five and would never be able
to walk. But inspired by Saints star Beattie, who has become his idol since he
attended his first match two years ago, Thomas astounded everyone who knew him
two weeks ago when he walked the entire way around the St Mary's pitch unaided. Dad Robert, 49, said the youngster,
who is a pupil at Cedar Special School, had walked short distances unaided
before, but set off for his 30-minute challenge during half-time after being
told that if he wanted to be like James Beattie he would have to walk round the
pitch. Thomas and his parents went along to watch the team training and the
football fanatic even had a kickabout with his hero. Mum Tracey, 38, said:
"He's been telling all his friends that he was going to meet James Beattie
and they were all jealous. "He's really enjoyed coming down today. It's a
dream come true for him and James has definitely lived up to his
expectations."
From Thomas is a walking miracle by
by Emma
Joseph
Published: Wednesday 05 November 2003 - Southampton News Daily Echo He is
mentally and physically handicapped, visually impaired and suffers from kidney
failure and brittle bones. Doctors said he would not live past the age of five
and would never be able to walk. But 11 year old Thomas Whiley has astounded
everyone who knows him by walking all the way round Saints football pitch,
completely unaided, after being inspired by his hero, James Beatie. "At
his school they showed me a video of him walking and I cried" - Thomas's
mum Tracy WALKING around with a huge grin on his cheeky face, decked out in his beloved
Saints shirt, scarf and hat, Thomas Whiley is the picture of happiness. Mention his favourite player, James Beattie, and the 11-year-old immediately
breaks into chants of "Same old Beattie, always scoring", clapping his
hands and bouncing around with excitement. But it was not always smiles for the youngster's family, after he was
diagnosed with an incredibly rare condition just six weeks after his birth,
leaving him mentally and physically handicapped, visually impaired, with brittle
bones and failing kidneys. Sufferers of Lowe Syndrome, which only affects boys, face a lifetime of
medication, physiotherapy and pain and a life expectancy of just five years. The condition was spotted when Thomas, from Greenlea Crescent, Bassett, went
for a six-week check up with his GP, who immediately sent him to an eye
specialist after diagnosing cataracts in each of the youngster's eyes.He had the cataracts removed at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London before
becoming just one of 16 boys in the country to be diagnosed with Lowe Syndrome. Thomas and his parents, Tracey, 38, and Robert, 49, soon became regulars at
the children's hospital, often going for appointments twice a week. But the cheerful youngster battled on, managing to get around by wriggling
while lying flat on his back, until mum Tracey taught him to shuffle along on
his backside. He made huge improvements once he started at Cedar Special School in
Nursling, learning to walk with a frame, although he still has to wear a helmet
in case he falls and bangs his head. But it is in the last two years that the youngster has come on in leaps and
bounds. Tracey, a learning support assistant at Cantell School, said: "At the
school they showed me a video of him walking and I cried. "But the walking on his own started two years ago. He likes trains and
he can see them from the window. "One day he got up off the settee and just walked over to the window.
He'd never done that before and I kept saying to him `do it again, do it
again'." But there was more to come. Dad Robert, a warehouse operative for Tesco, took Thomas along to a reserve
team match at St Mary's at the end of last season. "I like to be out and about, but I didn't know if he'd like it or
not," he said. "But he loved all the noise and the atmosphere. He tried to copy them
jogging about, he wanted to be like them, but he just fell over. "He's not really supposed to do that anyway, because he could break a
bone." The pair soon became regulars at the ground and are now both season ticket
holders. Robert said: "We have to do the same things because if his routine's
different he doesn't like it. "So we have to go to the pub and stop at the chip shop, we have to talk
to the same stewards and talk to the policeman. "He likes to talk to everybody and know where they're sitting and what
they're doing. "Everyone knows him down there - our friend's husband sits at the other
end and he said he could hear him shouting and singing sometimes. "There's people at the stadium who say hello to him and we don't even
know who they are." Thomas, who is a huge James
Beattie fan, has progressed tremendously since he started going along to
matches. And his new-found confidence stunned everyone at the ground when he
accompanied Robert to a Saints ladies match two weeks ago. "It was half-time and he was going on about James Beattie, saying he
wanted to be like him and work for Saints," said Robert. "So we told him if he wanted to be James Beattie he would have to walk
round the football pitch on his own. "And off he went. It took him nearly 30 minutes, but he did it, walking
right round the edge of the pitch. "I was absolutely choked." Tracey, who didn't see Thomas's miracle, has been encouraging the youngster
to walk by himself ever since and said the achievement has made the world of
difference to him. "He's changed a lot," she said. "He's walking more, he can undress himself and he tries to wash his face
and he cleans his teeth."He's more confident in himself now, he'll try to do things for himself
and he never used to be able to do that. "He just keeps on amazing us." And Saints goal ace James Beattie said: "It's a real honour that someone
with so much determination and courage considers me to be one of their
inspirations. I am really pleased Tom enjoys watching Southampton and am touched
that I have been a motivation for him over recent months. He is a remarkable kid
and my next goal is for you Tom. "All the training and determination I do each day at training and on
match days is massively reflected in how hard Tom has had to work to achieve
what some people said was impossible - a truly inspirational story."
Southampton
Daily Echo -
Saturday 20 December 2003:
Tom
thanks very kind Saint
Inspirational
Child enjoys kickabout with star
Thomas has a ball with hero Beattie
First published on
Monday 10 November 2003 Southampton News Daily Echo by Emma
Joseph
