Four-year-old Isaac goes the extra mile in memory of Arthur
Four-year-old Isaac Bruce-Whitley, who has walked miles in aid of the charity Arthur's Angels, with his uncle Kamryn Bruce and grandmother Emma Bruce - Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
A four-year-old Suffolk boy has overcome the challenges posed by stage 5 kidney disease to walk a mile a day to raise money for a charity set up in memory of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
Isaac Bruce-Whitley, who lives at Debenham, has been motivated by the sad story of the six-year-old from Solihull, who died after suffering horrendous abuse at the hands of his father and stepmother.
He is aiming to raise £1,500 for the charity Arthur’s Angels, which makes donations to hospices and children’s homes.
Four-year-old Isaac Bruce-Whitley, who is completing his walking challenge despite having kidney disease - Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
So far, his GoFundMe page has collected £1,040 and he is determined to continue with his walks, which involve walking a mile along his street Low Road and he has already completed 18 miles.
His feat is all the more remarkable because his condition means that he has to use a feeding tube and has periods of fatigue or "tired days".
His grandmother Emma Bruce said: “There was the news item that came through which was basically saying that nobody loved Arthur and Isaac said ‘I would love him’ and the decision to do the walks was a spontaneous thing on his behalf and it has just grown from there.”
Isaac is motivated by the sad story of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who lived in Solihull - Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
As well as the street walks, Isaac also uses footpaths and his grandfather Hughie Bruce maps out a mile distance in the car beforehand.
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He is currently receiving dialysis treatment for his kidney disease at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, while he also has access to services at Ipswich Hospital and he has been matched with two kidney donors.
However, as he can only have three kidneys during his lifetime, his current organs will remain in place for a while longer before he has a transplant.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes who died after suffering horrendous domestic abuse - Credit: WEST MIDLANDS POLICE
Mrs Bruce said: “I think he is just going to carry on with the walks until he has had enough. It started off as a 10-mile walk and I said ‘do you want to carry on or do you want to stop?’ He said he wanted to carry on forever.”
To support Isaac's fundraising appeal, visit https://gofund.me/aca59511
