He has his freedom back says uncle who helped fundraise Sunderland nephew's new all-terrain wheelchair
‘This is going to make a tremendous difference to his life’ - the words of doting uncle David Cook who helped to raise £28,000 to ensure 12-year-old William Calvert was able to get the all-terrain wheelchair his family say will enable him to now take part in “many of the things his friends do”.
William, 12, from Castletown, was a happy and healthy little boy, but at the age of three he a was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a muscle wasting condition which has no cure.
Over the last nine years, William's condition has now deteriorated to the point where he is unable to walk and is fully reliant on his wheelchair.
Unfortunately his old chair prevented him going on family and school trips to the beach or the cobbled streets of Beamish.
Determined to ensure his great nephew “didn’t miss out”, army veteran David, 61, decided to literally get on his bike and in May last year (2024) he spent every day throughout the month cycling 25 miles, raising an impressive £5,000 in the process.
Other family and friends also rallied round, setting up the ‘Wills Wish’ fundraising group with David’s son (also named David Cook) doing his own cycling challenge, as well as hosting raffles and a fundraising night at the Grand Hotel.
After 12 months of fundraising, the family were at last able to purchase the all-terrain wheelchair which has now been handed over to William.
It was wrapped in green paper and was waiting in the garden for William to unwrap when he got home from school.
A video sent to the Echo and Gazette shows a beaming William arriving home from school where he exclaims “I didn’t realise this was going to be here. That’s pretty cool - it’s mint,” with his family then cheering “happy new chair”.
The video then shows him racing around his front garden against someone in his old chair, with William speeding past and shouting “look at that speed difference”.
David, who was born in Sunderland but now lives in South Shields, said: “ and it’s satisfying to see all the family’s work pay off.
“He was overjoyed to see the all-terrain chair. It will make a tremendous difference to William’s life and will hopefully make his life that bit easier and enable him to do as many things as possible that his friends do.
“He’s already a lot happier and it’s great to see.”
William’s mother Caroline Calvert thanked everyone for their fundraising efforts “which means we can now make his days count”.
She added: “William dreamt of a little more independence and some of the freedoms we all enjoy. He wanted to go out when it snowed, head out along the beach, even just go up and down a curb and cross a street without taking a detour.
“He first felt this freedom on a school trip to Derwent Hill, where he was provided with an all-terrain wheelchair and he came back with a new outlook on life and he wanted to feel that good again.
“William is absolutely over the moon and the support from ‘I’m in for Will’ has meant William has everything he needs to make the most of his new-found freedom.
“He can now move freely and without constant help. He has done things he hasn’t for years which keeps his smile beaming like the ray of sunshine he is.”