A six year old boy from Abergavenny has taken on a challenge that most adults would find difficult to complete. Dylan Carlyon is a six year old boy with a BIG HEART.
Dylan’s younger brother, Hari was born safe and well in 2008, despite the belief of the medical profession that he wouldn’t make it. He soon showed his infectious personality and a real hunger for life. However, he began showing signs of delayed development and the stress and concerns for his parent’s David and Ceri started all over again.
Hari undertook numerous tests and still at the age of three his development is being closely monitored, however, he was found to have hyper-mobility in his joints resulting in an inability to crawl and walk.
As part of his treatment, Hari had a course of hydrotherapy in his local hospital Nevill Hall. The staff worked hard to build his muscle strength and core stability in a series of sessions in the pool. Soon after, Hari took his first steps just a few days after his second Birthday. Mum Ceri admitted she ‘shed a tear’ when he took those steps and describes the past few years as an ‘emotional rollercoaster.’
Hari’s big brother Dylan supported Hari through every step of this journey standing by his side and showing him how to walk, one foot at a time. Ceri said; ‘Dylan has always been very supportive to Hari, both physically and mentally.’
Dylan watched Hari in his hydrotherapy sessions and encouraged and supported him at every opportunity. Dylan also questioned the shortage of time that was available in the pool and the family discovered that it was a shared resource. The pool could only be used by children’s physiotherapy for a limited amount of sessions per week.
This clearly remained in Dylan’s mind because he recently came home from school with information about the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity’s Splish Splash Splosh campaign. Dad David recalled; ‘He was really excited that the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity were raising money for a dedicated hydrotherapy pool for children. He asked if he could do something special for his little brother and other children in South Wales.’
Dylan decided that he would walk the three peaks of the Abergavenny area, Skirrid (1601 feet), Sugarloaf (1955 feet) and Pen-Y-Fan (2907 feet). His proud parents (with the help of family and friends) walked with Dylan and helped him undertake this challenge on Saturday 6th August 2011, which he completed in 9hours.
Dylan has been raising funds through just giving and so far has raised a staggering £3,974 which has eclipsed Dylan’s original and modest target of £500.
To find out more or to sponsor Dylan click here.
