Awesome Boy Spotlight: Asher Jenkin Jones
Asher Jenkin Jones is an 11-year-old boy from Nottingham England with a thirst for adventure. He's going to attempt to paddle board solo for three miles off the west Wales coast. After taking off from Caldey Island, he's going to attempt to make it to Tenby harbour on the coast. This would be quite a challenge for many people, kid or adult, but Asher is not your average young sportsman. At the age of 10 months, he was diagnosed with three brain tumors that left him severely visually impaired.
Crazy or inspiring? Asher wants to set the record straight:
"I don't want people to underestimate what I can do. I want to show everyone that people who have disabilities can do great things too."
Asher received treatment for his condition at the Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre in Nottingham throughout his life. He's had major surgery to remove one tumor, and went through three years of chemotherapy. The hard fought battle may have left him visually impaired, but it hasn't dampened his spirits or his energy. Asher attends school as any normal kid, at the Elms School in Long Eaton, and took up paddle boarding only a year ago. He also enjoys skiing, judo, and goalball. Looking to give back, he's been raising money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and the hospital where he received his treatments.
What's the hardest thing about what he's attempting to do? He says:
"Not falling into the water is going to be the hardest thing but I've been practicing and I'm just looking forward to doing it now."
His father Tony had this to say: "Early diagnosis of children's brain tumours is critical and could be the crucial difference between either losing your children or getting effective treatment which could lead to a good quality of life. We were fortunate enough to have had an early diagnosis and I'm sure that has had an enormous impact on Asher's life. Treatment ensured that the brain tumour stopped growing and is not currently life-threatening but we couldn't save much of his sight."
"Asher amazes everyone he meets and people see his amazing abilities rather than his disabilities - what he can do not what he can't do. In fact because of his positive attitude and bubbly personality, they soon forget he has a disability at all."
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