'Inspirational' Shrewsbury schoolboy with cerebral palsy climbs Mount Snowdon for cancer charity

Nine-year-old Oscar Smith, from Shrewsbury, completed the mammoth task smashing his target for Stand Up To Cancer, a joint national fundraising campaign between Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

The youngster – who climbed to the summit with a support group of 16 other people in two hours and ten minutes – decided to fundraise for Cancer Research UK because in his words ‘people with cancer go bald and they might die’. So far, he has raised an incredible £2,565.

It’s the second time Oscar has raised money for charity, last year he raised more than £2,000 for a cerebral palsy charity by climbing the Wrekin.

And, says dad Liam, it’s something he and Oscar’s mum, Stephanie, never thought they would see: “We were very surprised when Oscar said he wanted to climb the Wrekin and then Snowdon as he always said his legs were tired so he wouldn’t walk anywhere,” said Liam.

“And then suddenly one day driving past the Wrekin he said he wanted to climb it. He did that and then decided this year he wanted to climb Snowdon as I had done it last year.”

Oscar was born weighing just over 3lb and spent the first six weeks of his life in hospital. He was born with three holes in his heart and, although two of them closed on their own, he had to undergo a live-saving operation to close the third.

He was diagnosed with asthma at just six months old and when he started walking, Liam and Stephanie - who also have a three-year-old son called Ollie - noticed he wasn’t progressing as well as other children his age.

“We noticed he was walking on his tiptoes a lot and kept falling over,” said Liam. “At the age of two he had a scan and that’s when we were told he had cerebral palsy.”

Despite his disability Oscar attends mainstream school. When he told his classmates he would be climbing Mount Snowdon for Stand Up to Cancer, they told him he would be ‘saving the life of the King’ who was diagnosed with cancer in February.

Oscar – who loves football and trains with Shawbury Tigers FC in Shrewsbury – also went through a gruelling operation at the age of six to correct a squint in his eyes.

Liam said: “He’s such a character and has such determination. We are so, so proud of him and of what he has done. After everything he has been through, all he wants to do is help other people.

“He has changed us as people because of the way he constantly pushes himself. He is a very infectious character.

“He did really well climbing Snowdon as he walks with splints to enable him to walk flat-footed. When we first set off, he said he wanted a sandwich after ten minutes and then he wanted a drink. I thought it was going to takes ages to get to the top, but in the end, it took us just over two hours and Oscar was actually overtaking people on the mountain.

“He’s an amazing boy.”

Oscar said: “I wanted to help people with cancer as they go bald and sometimes die. I wanted to help other people, I walked with my mum and dad and it was difficult. I enjoyed it.”

Louise Elliott, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for the Midlands, said: “Oscar is an incredible little boy and it’s thanks to people like him raising funds, that our researchers are able to work tirelessly to help more people survive - from developing a molecule to super-charge the immune system to attack tumours, to re-programming viruses to seek and destroy cancer cells.

“But we must go further and faster. One-in-two of us will get cancer in our lifetime. All of us can help beat it. That’s why we’re asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer with us. Whether it’s choosing to donate, fundraise, or tackle the ups and downs of our squats challenge, if thousands of us take a stand we’ll speed up the progress of vital research – meaning more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”

You can donate to Oscar’s JustGiving page justgiving.com/page/liam-smith-1710789178322.

By Louise Elliott - Contributor