Home
/ Mom / Child / This 5-year-old child walked 10 km with two prostheses to raise funds
To thank the hospital that saved his life, Tony Hudgell, a two-legged amputee, began a walk armed with crutches. This great initiative has enabled him to raise more than a million euros.
by Suruthi SRIKUMAR
He’s our hero of the day! At just 5 years old, Tony Hudgell raised more than £ 1 million, or around € 1.1 million, to pay tribute to the life-saving Evelina London Hospital. This brave little fellow, originally from the United Kingdom, walked for 10 km the whole month of June, while wearing prosthetic legs. Tony finally managed to cross the finish line on Tuesday afternoon, June 30, at Kings Hill in Kent, south-east London.
It all starts when Tony is just a baby, the little boy is abused by his biological parents. Which will have an irreversible impact on his legs. In 2017, accompanied and supported by his adoptive family (who received him soon after) and the nursing staff, he had his legs amputated. He thus relearns to walk with his two prostheses and his crutches. Thanks to this operation, Tony is definitely out of danger.
Inspired by Captain Tom Moore, Tony decided to take a walk to thank the nursing staff at the hospital. At the start, the little Briton left with one goal in mind: to collect 500 pounds sterling, or about 550 euros. But Tony’s act sparked a real show of solidarity, the little boy raised over a million pounds. "As a family, we are all incredibly proud of what Tony has accomplished. The level of donations and the improvement in his walk over the past 26 days has exploded all expectations. The kind words and support we have given us we have received are phenomenal – from friends, from the local community, across the UK and even around the world ", said his adoptive father, Mark Hudgell.
After crossing the finish line on Tuesday, June 30, Tony received a ton of applause and encouragement. " We would like to wish Tony and his family big congratulations on this incredible achievement "Said Caroline Gormley, associate director of fundraising at Evelina London and added that little Tony is a real source of inspiration. "This was put in place to improve his walking in order to assess whether prostheses are a good solution", says her mother, Paula Hudgell.
With this great initiative, the hospital director said the hospital will be able to afford to invest in cutting-edge technology to help their youngest patients. " ATDuring the past two days, with the confidence he has gained from this experience, he has tried to stand up and take a step unaided – this will be his next challenge. ! Said his father.
An inspiring little boy!