Golden Lion in Fareham help to surprise Havant teen with customised mobility scooter to help raise awareness of NF2-related schwannomatosis
Teen ‘over the moon’ with new scooter giving him more freedom
A “Kind” and “gentle” teenager with a rare disease was surprised after being gifted a new mobility scooter with “cool” decorations.
Alex Young, 16, of Leigh Park, has suffered with NF2-related schwannomatosis (NF2), a rare genetic disorder which sees the development of benign tumours along the nervous system, since he was six-years-old. After suffering from multiple seizures he was officially diagnosed in 2019 and has since undergone multiple surgeries and chemotherapy sessions.
At this time there is no cure and no remission, with Alex’s dad Shaun stating it feels “soul-destroying” when he posted an update on a Facebook page dedicated to Alex’s journey and raising awareness. Alex is now deaf in one ear and blind in one eye with Shaun revealing that when faced with more surgeries last year his son told him “I just can’t do this anymore”.
The landlords of the Golden Lion in Fareham, Jamie and Steve Jewell, are related to the Youngs with Debbie, Alex’s nan, also working there. Having seen how the teenager was struggling they wanted to do something to help.
Alex has a baby brother which means it can be difficult for Shaun to push a wheelchair as well as the baby. That gave the Golden Lion the idea to approach a local garage M.C.M Ltd for help.
Jamie said: “Debbie, who works here, came to us and said he is struggling and he does not want to be in an old man mobility scooter. We decided we needed to do something and spoke to M.C.M, which are brilliant local mechanics that we know very well, for them to jazz it up.
“His condition is incurable and it has been a struggle for the family as Alex lost his mum a few years ago. There is not enough awareness over the condition.
“After speaking to Debbie we decided to hold an awareness day while, as a surprise, also get him a mobility scooter that he is proud to go around on. I think it looks amazing.”
On Saturday, June 20, Alex gathered with friends and family at the Golden Lion where he was presented with the brand new scooter. Painted in his favourite colour green, the scooter also features characters from his favourite game Roblox.
Despite being quite shy, Alex was so pleased he made sure to go round and thank everyone that had been involved in making it.
His nan, Debbie, 64, from Leigh Park, was delighted to see his reaction. She said: “It was a fantastic day. He was very pleased. He very rarely goes anywhere because he can’t get about but this scooter is going to really help him. He was chuffed to bits
“I was a little bit choked up but I held it back. Just seeing that smile on his face, that made my day. I didnt know what the scooter was going to look like as they kept it from me as well so it was a really lovely surprise to see what they had done.”
She added: “We couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
On hand to present the scooter were the owners of M.C.M ltd. Kate Upton said: “As a 16-year-old lad, you don’t want to be going round on an old persons mobility scooter so we have made it look a bit cooler for him and put his favourite games on there.
“It gives him that independence, at 16 you don’t want to be pushed around you want to go out to meet your friends and this gives him that freedom to do so. To see his reaction it was heart-warming and made it all worthwhile.”
To complete the customization of the scooter Allstyles Scooters and Gosport Automotive Accident Repair also provided their services.
To find out more about Alex’s journey visit https://www.facebook.com/AlexNF2.