A 13-YEAR-OLD boy from Christchurch who suffered a stroke a year ago and has since benefited from the help and support of a Roald Dahl Nurse, has raised over £1,300 for the charity.

Will Sears, who is a keen sailor and was part of the RS National Sailing Squad, collapsed whilst on a family holiday to France and, after being taken to the central hospital in Paris, was found to have suffered a haemorrhagic stroke.

Cherie Sears, Will’s mum said: “They later diagnosed him with multiple Cavernous Malformations which we had no idea that he had.

“We were repatriated to the Great Ormand Street to undergo brain surgery but, before the surgery, the surgeon wanted more information about how he could do it safely.

“The bleed was on the auditory and vision pathway meaning that Will has lost a bit of his sight.”

During his rehabilitation, Will was given a Roald Dahl Nurse, a carer which supports seriously ill children and young people who have long-term serious condition.

With his position in the RS National Sailing Squad under threat due to his new condition, Will’s nurse Katrina Bottle, who is based out of Poole Hospital, along with his family, helped campaign for him to continue sailing with able bodied sailors, which he was finally granted.

“Roald Dahl Nurses don’t just support then individual, they do so much more. They support us as a family as well,” Cherie added.

“Katrina has helped Will come to terms with the fact that life is different to what it was, and she fought for him to carry on with his sailing.

“So now, even though he is disabled sailor, he is still competing with able bodies sailor in the same category.”

Will, who now wears a full life jacket and special equipment in order to compete, was able to compete in the World Championships in Sweden in September last year for five days of competing.

Although he missed a day and a half of sailing after suffering a seizure on the second day, he came 44th in his category.

To thank his Roald Dahl Nurse and help support the small charity, Will set himself the challenge of completing 26 bowlines in 2.6 minutes as part of the 2.6 challenge last month, raising £1,300 in the process.

Cherie said: “What we want to do is open people’s minds to the possibility of disabled sailing and that a disability doesn’t have to be a barrier to the sport.

“There are these nurses out there and my husband and I have been working in the health and social care for years and we have never heard of them.

“They are a real lifeline for children like Will and she has been supportive of him that he wanted to do something to help.”