Dad of poorly Northampton boy writes fundraising book to buy son new wheelchair

At just six months old Harry Cartwright, from Harpole, was told he would never walk after being diagnosed with epilepsy and scoliosis.

But after sheer determination, Harry was taught how to walk with a frame when he was two.

In 2019, Harry, who is now eight, went into theatre for the first of three pioneering treatments.

His spine was slowly stretched to avoid paralysis before he had spinal fusion surgery to help him walk again.

His dad, Richard Cartwright, said: "Seeing Harry in hospital was really scary from a parents' point of view but considering what he's been through, he has been incredible.

"He's doing great a year on and he is walking very well considering what he has had to go through in his eight years of life so far."

While Harry was recovering in hospital for 85 days, his dad, Richard, had decided to use the time spent by his bedside to write a children's book called 'The Sneezing Snake'.

One pound from every purchase of the £7.99 book goes to Harry's fund, which enables the family to purchase the youngster equipment that he needs to aid his ongoing development.

Richard, who self-published the book for three to eight year olds last year on Amazon, has so-far raised £200 through sales.

But the family are keen to raise the profile of the book so they can put more funds towards a wheelchair, which Harry can push by himself.

"It's always been in my mind to write a children's book as we are avid readers with our two children," Richard added. "We are big fans of Julia Donaldson and it was inspired by Harry's love for animals and he finds sneezing an incredibly funny pasttime, so I have combined it in the story.

"I came up with the idea for the book as we were trying to fund a disability bike and wheelchairs for Harry's physical needs.

"There's been a couple of hundred book sales so far but we are in the process of puchasing a wheelchair for him to wheel himself around, which costs £4,000, and it will be nice to put some of the funds towards it.

"It's great for the kids to be able to say 'my daddy wrote this'. I was trying to make sure my mind was active while he was in hospital as it was such a difficult time."