THE dad of a brave young Skipton boy whose life was turned upside down when he contracted meningitis before Christmas, has thanked everyone for their ongoing support and well wishes.

Adam Mortimer said life will be very different for a while now that seven-year-old rugby fan, Luke, is back at home. The youngster had to have part of all his limbs amputated to save his life but is responding well to physiotherapy which he and Luke’s mum, Christine, are helping with under guidance and always has a smile on his face.

“He’s doing great even though he was discharged from hospital earlier than perhaps he should have been because of the risk coronavirus could be to him. He has to go back every couple of weeks or so for check-ups and there is one small graft on one of his arms that still needs attention. Other than that he is brilliant.

“The lockdown has meant we are all isolating and though he has video-called his friends, he can’t wait to be able to see them..

“It’s amazing to have finally achieved getting Luke home, and something that early on in his illness we thought that we may not ever be able to do again. It has been a long time since we have all been together as a family and we are learning and adjusting how to be together again and to find out our new ‘normal’.

“It is another major step in Luke’s rehabilitation, however there is still a long road ahead for us as a family,” he said. He also said Luke was showing immense strength of character.

“Luke constantly amazes us with the way he handles all the new challenges in his life. We are really proud of him and his determination seems to know no bounds.

“Harry, Luke’s older brother, is also glad he’s back. He has had to take a back seat over the past few months and his life has changed a lot too. But I can see he will be very proud of his brother's achievements and the spirit he has shown .”

Adam also gave his wife a huge amount of credit for coping with unexpected hurdles.

He added: “Christine was incredible looking after Luke alone in the hospital, especially as all of her time was either spent on lockdown in Luke’s room on the ward, or in the Treetops accommodation room until it was closed off. I also got ill, with suspected Covid during this time, despite taking what I thought were good precautions, which delayed Harry being able to come back to the family home for a further 21 days.”

The couple have made a few adaptations to their home but a lot still has to be done in time.

Above all, Adam and Christine said they want to thank the community of Skipton and beyond for their support, from rugby clubs, including Skipton RUFC, to individuals and schools, as well as support from businesses.

Though lockdown thwarted some fundraising events, almost £127,000 has been crowdfunded so far with more collected elsewhere.

“We have been overwhelmed with kindness and can’t thank people enough. People have said they wanted to help and it gives you your faith back.”

The fundraising page is still open at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/john-firth

Details of Lukes progress can also be found on the Facebook page ‘thisisluke’.