Charlie has been having swimming lessons via Level Water for two years. Swimming 'should' never have been possible for Charlie as his body moves completely differently to most people. 

Charlie was born with Frontometaphyseal Dysplasia. A rare syndrome where less than a dozen cases are known worldwide! His syndrome affects him in several ways... 

- Chronic kidney disease. Charlie takes medication for this daily and will need a transplant at some stage in his life. 

- Urethral stricture. Charlie was unable to wee and now wee's now using cathaters via a channel in his belly button called a mitrofanoff made from his appendix, inserted into a new bladder made from his bowel. Clever stuff! 

- Joint contractures. Every joint in Charlie's body is affected by his syndrome. He even had to have surgery on his skull when he was 21 months old! He cannot bend his thumbs or some joints in his fingers. His wrists and ankles have limited movement. His neck and spine are very stiff and lack flexibility. His elbows knees and hips don't straighten. He cannot raise his arms above his head or turn his hands upwards (like when you squeeze shampoo into your hand or take change from a shop assistant). 

Swimming has been a big challenge for Charlie as most normal strokes are impossible for his body to achieve. His biggest challenge is being able to breath and swim. If his head is out of the water, he cannot keep his legs and body up to the surface. If his body is in an efficient position, he cannot turn his head out of the water to take a breath. 

Level Water offer Charlie 1:1 lessons with a fantastically trained swimming teacher. Charlie's amazing teacher Steph takes the time to understand how Charlie's body works, and comes up with new ways to adapt his swimming to be efficient. The relationship they have is amazing and Charlie's passion for swimming has stemmed from Steph's constant support and encouragement.

The Superhero Triathalon is specifically for children with disabilities along with their 'sidekicks' (helpers) to complete a 150m swim, 3k bike ride, and 1k run with any support they need to be able to complete the Tri. 

Charlie with help from daddy will complete his swim with a snorkel so that he can concentrate on stamina to complete the 150m swim without running out of air!

He will use his trail gator to complete the 3k cycle with grandad. 

And he will complete the 1k run (depending on energy levels) by either walk or wheelchair with help from Nanny and Uncle Ben! 

Charlie is so excited to be a superhero for the day and is working really hard in preparation for his Tri. Any donation you can make to support Charlie no matter how small will make such a difference. Thank you for reading x

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