Boy, 5, will need to learn to walk again after surgery

A five-year-old boy hopes to show others that "even the biggest journeys begin with one small step" as he learns to walk again after major foot surgery.

Kai, from Walton, Liverpool, was born with a rare condition affecting his joints and muscles called arthrogryposis and needed surgery on his feet at just one month old.

He recently needed another operation after his feet started to relapse, and now he faces a long road to recovery.

But his mother Talia said her son had set himself the goal of walking 41 miles (65km) on his own once he has recovered.

"He is doing amazingly. He always just takes everything in his stride and he always tries his little best," said the 25-year-old.

"He has his little days where he doesn't really want to do physio and he doesn't really want to see the doctors, but obviously it's normal.

"But nine times out of 10 he goes in with a happy face.

"He's making all the nurses and doctors laugh."

Since his first operation on his feet, Kai has needed to wear boots with a bar in the middle.

For the first six months of his life, he needed to wear them for 23 hours a day, as well as making frequent hospital appointments and physiotherapy sessions.

At the end of 2024, doctors noticed that his feet had started to relapse and he needed surgery, which took place on 20 August.

"It's been a tough week," said Talia.

"We've been back in A&E twice.

"It was really hard. He's not the type of kid to kick and scream and throw up a fuss, he tries to fight it.

"It's so heartbreaking because he tries his best and he doesn't shed a tear.

"It's not often he cries over pain."

Earlier this year, Kai completed a fundraising challenge and raised nearly £400 for charity because he wanted to help other people.

Talia said seeing how proud he was of his fundraising achievements made her realise just how much he loves having a goal to work towards.

This led to the idea for a walking challenge as part of his recovery.

"Kai has been through more than children ever should have to," she said.

"But he continues to face every challenge with courage, determination and the biggest smile.

"We couldn't be prouder of him."

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