FAMILY’S PRIDE AS AMPUTEE ROMEO LEARNS TO SWIM
W HEN Romeo Hadley was just three years old he needed both his legs amputated after contracting a rare disease.
Surgeons had no choice but to carry out a double leg amputation just above the knees in a bid to save his life.
Two years on and the youngster is not only walking with the help of prosthetics – he’s also swimming widths in the pool.
A new video posted by the family shows Romeo jumping into the water on holiday in Spain and doing the doggy paddle towards his dad, Jonathan.
His mum Katie, from Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, said: “We’re chuffed to bits [that he’s swimming] as we didn’t know if it would be possible.
“He’s recently started swimming lessons with his best friend. Both of them initially refused but when the swimming teacher said she would teach them both together on a weekly basis, their fears soon went and now we can’t get them out of the pool at the end of the session.”
Katie said that when they arrived in Spain, Romeo could manage five or six strokes.
“But now he’s doing the width of the pool. Everyone is so proud of him,” she added.
Romeo impressed one passer-by so much that she gave him five Euros for his superb efforts.
“He enjoyed spending it on Pokemon characters,” joked Katie.
The video of Romeo swimming has been viewed more than 2,000 times and has close to 200 Facebook “likes”.
Katie added: “He is doing brilliantly. He is such a pleasure. He has an amazing personality. We’ve said this from day one – it will be the mind that disables him, not his legs.”
In January 2015, Romeo began suffering terrible pains in his legs during a shopping trip.
His parents knew something was seriously wrong when they spotted a series of mysterious purple blotches on his skin, spreading very quickly.
Following a visit to A&E, where his condition rapidly deteriorated, he was diagnosed with the life-threatening thrombotic disorder purpura fulminans, which leads to small blood vessels clotting within the skin.
He then needed a 10-hour operation to remove his legs to stop the disease from spreading further.
Katie said that despite the amputations Romeo is coping remarkably well and is living life to the full.
Earlier this year the five-year-old was given his first pair of prosthetic legs, allowing him to walk again.
He has also attracted the attention of television producers and appeared in hit TV drama Call The Midwife.
Romeo played a young patient living in the 1950s with a thalidomide-related disability.
The video of Romeo swimming can be seen at www.walesonline.co.uk