From a sarcoma diagnosis and an amputation, to raising millions with Children in Need, Lewis is determined to take on the world.
It had taken him three years to be diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Doctors originally thought the lump behind his knee was a sporting injury from rugby and full-contact football, as well as from the fact he was still growing. One day his leg locked into place, and he fell from the top of a flight of stairs in school straight to the bottom.
An emergency MRI scan followed, then numerous rounds of chemotherapy, which only caused the cancer to spread from his knee to his ankle.
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“But that first step on board was freedom. I went from thinking I was going to fall in, to being perfectly fine. I had help from the skipper too. It is an amazing experience to be able to sit on a boat because, initially, you have your leg amputated and you think there’s so much you’re not going to be able to do. Knowing now that I can get on a boat perfectly fine has helped me take each day as it comes. I take days to their full advantage.”
Being taken out of his comfort zone gave Lewis his optimism back after the ‘hardest year of his life’ during his treatment. He’s back playing football and is training to become an athletic sprinter.
“A lot of what I’m doing now is help from the Trust itself,” he said. “Because they’ve helped me build up to be the person I am now. Before, I would take certain things as they came. Now I’m determined to take on the world. This is who I am now and this is how it’s gonna stay.”
Lewis continued to take on the world when he joined Children in Need's Rickshaw Challenge for its tenth anniversary. Host Matt Baker has cycled the length and breadth of the UK over the last decade with teams of young people, sharing their stories while raising money for charity. Lewis and his team raised over £4.7m while collectively covering 332 miles - the distance from London to Edinburgh!
Hear from Lewis about his Rickshaw Challenge experience - and what it was like cycling from home instead of together in person - on our Sound Waves podcast.
If you, or someone you know, could benefit from Trust support, or you want to make a difference to young lives after cancer, here's how you can...
