Skipton Padel Club hosted a 24-hour padel marathon to raise funds for Luke Mortimer, a 12-year-old boy who had his arms and legs amputated after contracting Meningococcal Meningitis Septicaemia.
GB Senior internationals Sally Bickerton and Nicky Horn, plus World Championships silver medallist Jacqueline van Wijk from the Netherlands, all took part in the fundraiser for the ‘This is Luke‘ campaign, also attended by the brave young man himself.
The 24-hour padel match raised £1,500 towards a new arm for Luke, whose condition (essentially meningitis with the added complication of sepsis) is normally only contracted by adults.
Back in 2019, a then seven-year-old Luke was put on a dialysis machine in order to keep his liver and kidneys functioning, and to cool his blood to try to get his body temperature under control. However, his limbs and skin did not survive the treatment.
His hands and feet turned black and were no longer functional. After taking some time to digest the news that amputation of his hands was necessary, Luke said: “Thank you my wonderful hands, you served me well!”
Later, sadly, his legs were to follow, proceeded by extensive skin grafts, physio, psychology, occupational therapy – 23 surgeries in all over a 10 week period.
More heartache was to follow, as the pandemic meant Luke’s mum Christine had to stay with him permanently in hospital but his father Adam couldn’t visit and had to quarantine at home.
Now, having moved house to better accommodate Luke’s needs at home, and finding him prosthetic arms and legs and a specialist wheelchair, more funds are needed for new prosthetic limbs as the rest of Luke’s body grows.
“Arms are around £20,000 each and legs can be £150,000-£200,000 each,” Luke’s father Adam told The Padel Paper.
With plenty of support, Adam is organising a calendar of fundraising activities, including the recent 24-hour padel marathon, which was led by Chris Clark.
Adam said: “I’d never played padel before, so my first experience of it was right at the end of the event. I’d been up for well over 24 hours, so it probably wasn’t my best performance! I hope to try it again soon, after a proper night’s sleep!”
You can donate to the ‘This is Luke’ campaign here
Find out more about Luke and his family on the campaign’s Facebook page
Pic credits: Andy Wilson
