KIND-HEARTED apprentices are doing their bit to raise cash to cure a terminal illness after meeting a young boy with the condition.
Ethan Marvin, six, a pupil at Lee-on-the-Solent Infant School, has inspired eight apprentices from Gosport Defence Munitions to fundraise for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
They are to raise cash with a sponsored bike ride.
Ethan’s mum Karina, 35, of Magister Drive in Lee-on-the-Solent told the apprentices how the condition affects Ethan day to day.
Diagnosed at two days old, he has to undergo physiotherapy and take 30 to 40 digestive enzyme and vitamin tablets a day.
He also uses a nebuliser, which sends antibiotics and mucus-thinner directly to his lungs, and takes 20 minutes to use.
The apprentices will ride from London to Reading on March 24 to fund research to find a cure, and as part of their entry in the Brathay Apprentice Challenge.
Josh Evans, 20, of Sedgwick Close, Rowner in Gosport is a phase two apprentice.
He said: ‘You don’t realise how much some people have to go through just to keep comfortable.
‘It’s a big thing for someone his age. He’s got a lot of other things on his mind.
‘It’s good to know what the charity’s about, I don’t know what I was expecting – I wasn’t expecting him to be running around.’
Karina, looks after Ethan and his siblings Evie, four and Zac, one, with husband Craig, 39.
She said: ‘It’s absolutely brilliant, I’m really grateful.
‘I treat him as normal as possible, he’s just one of my children.’
Cystic fibrosis is caused by one defective gene and clogs organs – particularly the lungs and digestive system – with a thick sticky mucus.
There is no cure for the condition, which leads to sufferers having chronic infections, lung inflammation and difficulty digesting food.
Visit justgiving.com/ Team-Gosport to donate.
Comments