Remember the five-year-old Tony Hudgell who has set the 10 km walk challenge on his prosthetic legs? Well, the double-amputee boy has now raised £1 Million for the London Hospital that saved his life, after being inspired by WWII veteran, Captain Tom Moore’s who raised millions for the NHS by walking laps of his garden in Bedfordshire. Tony’s legs had to be removed after he suffered terrible abuse at the hands of his biological parents when he was only five weeks old. His parents were convicted of child cruelty in 2018 and jailed for ten years. Despite the tragic past, Hudgell remained confident and determined to walk every day, and finally, he reached his target of walking 10 km in June, 2020.
Hudgell is from West Malling in Kent. Inspired by 100-year-old WWII veteran Captain Tom Moore, he vowed to walk and raise money for Evelina London Children’s Hospital. It is the same hospital which saved him when he was only five weeks old, with multiple injuries. The fundraising page says both his legs were amputated in 2017.
Tony Hudgell in His Day 25 Walk
Day 25 of 🐻#10Walk for @EvelinaLondon
10.3km completed and over £440,000 plus gift aid raised - truly incrediblehttps://t.co/YNAlMMZZNw@BBCBreakfast tomorrow live at 8.30am
Thank you @heidieasby
For photos#millionpoundboy #oneinamillion #doubleamputee#survivor pic.twitter.com/VuZW5D7aBo
— Tony Hudgell BEAR @bearsjourney (@paula_hudgell) June 25, 2020
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This five-year-old double amputee has raised more than $1 million for the hospital that saved his life by walking 10 kilometers on his new prosthetic legs.
He was inspired by the record-breaking endeavors of a WWII veteran who is 95 years his senior. https://t.co/SA03XbVzAt pic.twitter.com/AUxOfgDSxx
— ABC News (@ABC) June 26, 2020
His adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, reported that he received prosthetic limbs in February this year. From learning to walk to covering hundreds of meters every day, the five-year-old never looked back and continued to inspire millions across the world, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who also extended their gratitude for showing such ‘incredible courage.’
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Are Proud of Tony!
We are so proud of the incredible courage and determination shown by Tony Hudgell, who is walking 10km to raise funds for @EvelinaLondon, of which The Duchess of Cambridge is Patron — #GoTonyGo!https://t.co/X5lU9FMBmz pic.twitter.com/Sc9Jl2BgqD
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) June 24, 2020
The challenge had been ‘really fun,’ to the five-year-old who reported that he felt, ‘really good’ to have achieved this goal of walking 10 km in June with days to spare. It is incredible to witness such a courageous boy with strong determination. His will power just surprises all of us. A young boy like him motivates us to be determined to achieve our goals despite all the hurdles.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2020 08:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).