Boy climbs UK's tallest mountain after being told he’d never walking again
A seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy has overcome huge adversity after climbing Britain’s tallest mountain for charity, even though his parents were told he’d never walk again.
Caeden Thomson, from Corby, Northamptonshire, was born 12 weeks premature, and has undergone intense physiotherapy to walk again.
Despite doctors' claims that he would never properly take his first steps, Caeden nor his family gave up.
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".
At just seven, he hiked the 1,345 metres to the top of Ben Nevis in the Highlands on Saturday, and managed to raise more than £8,000 for his local NHS trust and disability equality charity, Scope.
The group began to make their way up the massive mountain at 9am.
Together, they would reach 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".
To say it was a “massive challenge” was an understatement for the group, who said it was “much, much harder than any of us expected".
She said: "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."