Sick boy inspired to walk by lame duck

Jo Steele

He has spent more time in hospitals in his brief lifetime than many of us ever will, but things are finally looking up for four-year-old Finlay Lomax.

He suffered a stroke as a baby and, after he developed cerebral palsy, doctors said he would never be able to walk.

But after his mother Becci took in a day-old disabled duckling, the youngster has learned to stand on his own two feet.

The tiny hatchling, named Ming-Ming, had a broken leg – but Ms Lomax saved it from the chop and found a vet. Ming-Ming was given physiotherapy and fitted with a 2cm splint.

Finlay was so impressed with his new pet’s progress that he began to copy his steps, saying: ‘I walk like the duck, mummy’.

‘As soon as Ming-Ming started physio and began walking, so did Finlay. I was brimming with pride,’ said 29-year-old Ms Lomax. Finlay and the duck now regularly stroll around the family home in Plymouth together and he can manage up to five metres at a time using a Zimmer frame.

‘I’ve told him that if he works hard then one day he will be able to take Ming-Ming for walks on a lead.

‘That is what he is really working hard towards,’ said the law student and single mother.

‘The most amazing thing is that, in helping this little duckling, Finlay has also taken his first steps.’

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/812753-sick-boy-inspired-to-walk-by-lame-duck