Mum's quest to raise £60,000 for son's operation to help him take first steps

After being born more than 10 weeks prematurely, he then went on to suffer from a brain haemorrhage, two holes in his heart and a chronic lung disease – all before he'd left hospital.

He was discharged from hospital at two months and it was then discovered he also had cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia. At three, Leon cannot yet walk, or talk and struggles to sit.

His mother, Kasia, who is originally from Newport, is now trying to raise the £60,000 needed for her toddler to have life-changing surgery to enable him to take his first steps.

The surgery, selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), is no longer available on the NHS, so Mrs Thompson hopes to fund it as a family.

It would remove or reduce the condition in his legs so he has the opportunity to walk and develop more typically.

Mrs Thompson, who also has a seven-month-old daughter, said: "His legs are so tight, they completely cross when he tries to walk.

"The surgery should relax him and take the pain away. More than anything it's the pain we want to stop.

"If we leave it for when he is older he might not be able to walk.

"It could mean the difference between a life in a wheelchair or just a stick."

His family, now of Codsall, hope that he will have the operation either before or when he is five years old.

Friends and family have organised a number of events and challenges over the next two years to achieve this and since January this year they have already raised almost £6,000.

Mrs Thompson's regular hairdresser initially offered to donate 30 per cent of all first appointments to Leon's cause, and now has offered to hold a charity hair demonstration to raise more funds.

InSpirit Hair Salon will also hold the demonstration called "Hair Through The Decades", at 2pm on May 21 at Cosy Hall, Newport.

• For more information, or to donate to Leon’s cause, visit www.justgiving.com/leonsfirststeps or www.facebook.com/LeonsJourney