Six year old Sebastian Whatton was diagnosed with Leukaemia in March 2013 and has been fighting on ever since. People like Seb are some of those who this challenge is intended to help and his ‘I Can and I Will’ attitude is a strong message that we can all learn from.
Here at I can and I Will we believe not only physical rehabilitation but mental/emotional boosts are key towards a strong recovery, with that in mind the money being raised is split between rehabilitation equipment and providing meaningful experiences to look forward to.
Days out, meeting heroes or simply spending more time with loved ones will all help driving the recovery process.
Seb’s mother had this to say:
Our gorgeous little boy, Sebastian Whatton was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia on Sunday 24 March 2013. We had been at Birmingham Children’s Hospital for almost a week and Sebastian had undergone a operation to treat a suspected septic hip.
His symptoms improved during the week but a haematology doctor visited us on Friday 22 March saying she wasn’t happy with his bloods and needed to do a bone marrow test. That test happened on Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon we had the devastating news we just never thought possible. Our little boy had cancer!
He started intense chemotherapy treatment straight away, they had to break his body to fix him. We took a day at a time, but it was heartbreaking to see our little boy so ill, scared and unhappy. The chemotherapy he had affected his legs and he needed physio on and off for the whole 8 months that he underwent intensive treatment. There were very dark days, but many happy days as we made the best of the situation with love and laughter. As traumatic as it is to watch children go through so much, you have to completely admire their ability to get on with it.
Seb is in remission, but will continue on his chemotherapy treatment until he is 7. His hair has grown back and so does his strength. Our little boy is almost back to his old bubbly, cheeky, confident self. He still suffers with his legs, he regularly says how much they hurt him. He will trip and fall a lot, often his legs give way beneath him. We do physiotherapy daily with him.
We actually met Gavin Sandford at a physio appointment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and were bowled over when he told us about his challenge. 45 Marathons in 45 days is such a mind blowing challenge! We have sponsored him and wish him all the success with completing his personal challenge as we know he is sacrificing a lot to do this.
Without people like Gavin, my son and children like him may not have the first class equipment and care that they need to get back full strength and lead as normal a life as possible.
Thank you Gavin you are inspirational