Benidorm or Bust Challenge for Noah Stubbs of Houghton-le-Spring
Noah Stubbs was diagnosed with a degenerative mobility condition, Gemin5, two years ago and is thought to be one of 15 people in the world to have it.
It affects his learning development and his parents have been advised to make sure he stays active to reduce the risk of him needing to use a wheelchair.
Noah Stubbs has been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition (Image: Terry Blackburn)
So now the four-year-old’s family is planning to create physiotherapy facilities at his grandma’s house in Houghton-le-Spring.
Irene Reid, from Consett, a good friend of Noah’s grandmother, Michelle Rose-McCaffery, has started fundraiser and sets off on the Benidorm or Bust challenge on Sunday.
It involves driving to the Spanish resort from Calais with her husband Paul in a renovated VW Golf, and other competitors, doing challenges along the way.
And as Noah is obsessed with Toy Story, their car has been decked out with references to the films and Irene will be wearing a different character’s costume on each day of their trip.
The car has been specially adapted because of Noah's love for Toy Story (Image: Terry Blackburn)
Irene, 55, who has two daughters and is a grandmother-of-one, said: “Noah is such a lovely little boy, always full of smiles, but he is going to face certain challenges.
“We just wanted to do what we could to help.
“We love cars and thought the rally would be a good way to raise money. Because Noah is Toy Story mad, it had to be Toy Story.
“So the head cloth inside is clouds, there are toy soldiers on parachutes hanging up in the back.
“There are Toy Story characters outside the car and Noah’s name is spelled out in lettered building blocks.
“On the top we have a cowboy sheriff’s hat so from the front it looks like a car dressed up to be Woody.”
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The trip is expected to take ten days in total (Image: Google)
Irene and Paul will be travelling from Dover to Calais on Monday before the challenge starts Tuesday.
Irene expects it to take them ten days in total so they should be back in the region next weekend when they plan to sell the car to help with their appeal.
The target for the fundraiser is £10,000 but she hopes to raise as much as possible.
Irene said: “In the words of Toy Story, we just want to ‘Reach for the Sky’.”
Noah lives in Houghton-le-Spring with his mum, Bethany, 25, dad Gareth, 30, and his 14-week-old sister Ella-Rose.
Bethany with Noah and Ella-Rose (Image: Terry Blackburn)
His grandma, Michelle, said: “With Noah, a big part of the problem is not knowing how his condition will develop.
“He loves being out in the garden and there is an outbuilding so the plan is to make that into a physio room so there are climbing things and stuff that he likes.
“We also need to have everywhere in the garden as flat as possible and allow him to build up his core strength to maintain his mobility.
“That is what we were told may happen and he could end up in a wheelchair so we are adapting everything while we can.
“When Irene came up with this idea for Noah I was absolutely blown away by her kindness.
“I was speechless when she told me. She is an amazing person.”
Noah Stubbs in the special Toy Story car (Image: Terry Blackburn)
To donate to Noah’s fundraiser, click here[3].
References
- ^ Three hospitalised after lorry and car crash on A167 (thenorthernecho.co.uk)
- ^ Click here (www.thenorthernecho.co.uk)
- ^ click here (www.justgiving.com)