Alex, 12, defies disability to scale Munro in wheelchair

● Charity helps family complete their dream climb

0 Volunteers from the charity Joelette and People Experiences (Japes) help Alex Medley fulfil his ambition of scaling a Munro A determined youngster defied his disability to reach the top of a Munro in a wheelchair.

Alex Medley has the rare genetic disorder hereditary spastic paraplegia and has never walked unaided.

But a group of volunteers worked to get the 12-year-old to the summit of Ben Lomond using a specially designed wheelchair called a Joelette.

It took the volunteers from the charity Joelette and People

PAISLEY

Experiences (Japes) seven and a half hours to carry the Perthshire schoolboy to the top, marking the first time the charity wheelchair has been taken off road.

Parents Philip, 54, an IT consultant and Sam, 51, who volunteers with a variety of charities, are both keen walkers.

It has been their dream to climb a Munro with son Alex and daughter Charlotte, nine.

Alex’s mother said: “We have always wanted to get Alex up a Munro. Philip and I were keen hillwalkers before having kids and it was always a dream to get both Alex and his younger sister Charlotte up a mountain as a family – one we never thought would be realised.”

A team of five fit volunteers loaded Alex into the Joelette and started the walk earlier this month.

His mother said: “Seeing Alex and his younger sister Charlotte make it up the Munro really did make us feel on top of the world.

“From our family’s perspective, getting to the top, and back down again, was a fantastic experience.

“Watching each and every one of the team work together to get Alex to the top was extremely humbling.

“Throughout the seven and a half hours it took to do Ben Lomond, the Japes team worked tirelessly to ensure we as a family could make the summit.”

At the top, the family and crew were met with cheering and clapping from others on the summit.

Now, Alex and sister Charlotte want to make plans to climb another Munro.

Their mother said: “We can’t thank Japes, the fantastic team and especially Nelson enough for helping us achieve something that seemed impossible.

“It showed us how, with the help of others and a lot of determination, having a disability doesn’t need to be a barrier to getting out and experiencing different aspects of life.”

Japes is a non-profit social inclusion project that aims to allow people of all ages who live with mobility challenges to experience running events.