Little Theo Samson has endured many trials in his four years. Born with a rare birth defect he had no tube connecting his mouth to his stomach.
His many medical conditions mean, in his short life, he has spent many months in hospital, with 22 visits in one particular year.
His nominator for the Child of Courage award said: “Theo is my absolute hero and he and his family are the bravest people I have ever met. They never complain or moan about their situation; they always find the positives despite all of the challenges.”
And for this little boy challenges there have been many.
Theo was also born with a rare bone marrow failure characterised by congenital abnormalities and an increased risk of certain cancers.
He had his first surgery at one day old where a tube was placed to deliver nutrition straight to his stomach. Another tube constantly sucked saliva from his mouth.
At two months old, surgeons tried again to repair his condition with little success.
www.stphotos.co.uk
Theo had a setback in June 2021 when he had sepsis due to an infection in his only kidney. “Thankfully after a week of IV antibiotics he was back to himself,” said his nominator.
After two cancelled appointments due to Covid, he underwent surgery again, this time pulling his stomach up into his chest and connecting the two ends. Theo was sedated for two weeks to help him heal.
“Although this was a quiet year he has been under so many teams, surgery, urology, haematology, genetic oncology, craniofacial, speech and language, audiology and the dietitian,” said his nominator.
Mum Sam said of attending the awards ceremony: “It was lovely to have a positive day in our lives which we could just enjoy being together–I cried a lot.
Matt explained: “From watching the video, he’s been through quite a lot–it’s nice to have something which is just positive.
“You get given a lot of good news which is followed by something else; we got the phonecall saying he’d been shortlisted, followed by the news that he’d entered Stage 2 of bone marrow failure.
“And this award is something that can’t change, it’s cemented.”
Sam said of the award: “What it does is open up to the world that these things are happening everywhere: we’re in this, dealing with those tough blows, but we’re not the only ones.
“I’m also a Senco (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) in a secondary school so I also see it from a teaching side.
“Any publicity about children with those kinds of needs, whatever they are, are incredibly important, and we should all be listening.”
