Terminally-ill Faversham boy Thomas Fryer to celebrate third Christmas
Published: 05:00, 25 December 2022
A terminally-ill boy not expected to live long past two will celebrate his third Christmas today.
Thomas Fryer, from Faversham, was born with life-limiting brain condition lissencephaly - which has left him blind, unable to walk or talk and with epilepsy.
His family - including older brothers Frankie, five, and Jayden, 10 - have tried to make every Christmas spent with him extra special.
And mum Jasmine Legg says she has allowed herself to "feel a little bit excited" about today as the two-and-a-half-year-old isn't as ill as last year.
"I always treat every Christmas like it could be our last," the 31-year-old said.
"This could be our last as I don’t know what he will be like in the New Year, but I obviously hope it won’t be.
"Every year I try to make it as magical as I can because I don’t know how many we’re going to have with him.
"He loves lights so we have got some for him for Christmas."
Jasmine says Thomas's current condition is "so-so", as he continues to have daily seizures.
But since August, he has only been admitted to hospital twice which is a vast improvement on last year.
"It is obviously a really stressful time of the year because I panic we will be in hospital as he can change in hours," she added.
"My other children finished school last Friday, so we’ve spent the time since then indoors to make sure we don’t pick up anything.
"I don’t want to be in the hospital at Christmas as I don’t want to be away from my other children.
"He was poorly over the festive season last year with tonsillitis and a chest infection.
"We left the hospital four days before December 25, but we had to go back on Boxing Day.
"We managed to have Christmas at home, but it was hard as I knew he wasn’t 100%."
In February, Jasmine told of how how her family was hoping to visit Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire - home to England’s only koalas - to mark Thomas’s second birthday.
She hoped the trip would give Frankie and Jayden the chance to make some precious lasting memories.
The family launched a fundraiser to help pay for the trip, which was estimated to cost about £500.
But KentOnline managed to secure free tickets to Longleat for the family, along with a weekend stay at a nearby Premier Inn.
At the end of May, shortly before Thomas’ second birthday, the family went on their trip.
The family is still raising money through Justgiving.
"Every year I try to make it as magical as I can because I don’t know how many we’re going to have with him..."
"I’m trying to fundraise to go to Wales because there is a lady who does intense physiotherapy courses for Thomas," Jasmine continued.
"She did come to us last year but that’s because he was smaller.
"Now he’s bigger, we have to go to her. It’s an intense therapy course for three days so it’s a lot of money.
"He did really well last year, so it’s something I would like to do again for him."
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Brad Harper