Cooper McLennan, of Dunedin, lost his ability to take part in sports when he was diagnosed with Perthes’ disease — a rare bone disease where bloodflow is lost to the ball portion of the hip joint.
Cooper went from a sport-filled life playing futsal to being wheelchair-bound.
However, Cooper’s mum, Jalisa McLennan, has found a way to get her son back to doing what he loves.
Mrs McLennan saw a post on social media saying there were 10 spots for children with disabilities to sign up for the chance to go to World Ability Sport International Camp and Cup in Denmark this year to take part in the frame running race.
"I thought ‘oh, cool, that would be Cooper’.
"I didn’t think he would get it, but then the founder of the Now I Can Run foundation approached me and said they would be happy to sponsor him."
Cooper received one of the spots, and is the only child in New Zealand she knows of to get one.
The competition will be held in Denmark this July and if he makes it to the event Cooper would compete with a special running frame.
Now I Can Run has also given Cooper $3000 to help get to Denmark.
"I mean three grand, holy moly, we are so grateful, but that is just the tip of the iceberg."
Mrs McLennan and her friends are furiously fundraising to get herself and Cooper to Denmark, but the ultimate dream is to have the entire family over to support him.
"I’m still buzzing Cooper has this opportunity — I can’t let money be the reason he doesn’t get this opportunity."
Mrs McLennan said Cooper was diagnosed with Perthes’ disease in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown and almost immediately went into surgery to support his hip and prevent further deterioration.
Cooper also has autism, which affected his ability to communicate, which meant the family was unsure how long he had been in pain for.
"He has a high pain threshold, which is a real pain because it could have gone on a lot longer if we had not noticed him limping."
"He’s not in a wheelchair now, but he was for a couple of months in the middle of lockdown.
"Navigating that at his age was hard. A boy at his age should have been out and running around.
"He still can’t play sport. We have to be careful at school. You have to take extra precaution with all factors of life — you just have to think about everything."
Now I Can Run, an organisation that helps people with disabilities participate in sports, recreational activities and to gain paid employment, sent Cooper a running frame as part of the sponsorship which he will be able to keep.
The arrival of the frame also means Cooper will be able to take part in the Weet-Bix Triathalon for the first time since his diagnosis, and his mum signed him up to take part on March 3.
"The running frame bears his weight, so he will still do the movement of running, but you don’t have the impact of the ground.
"I’ll do what I can to get him there — whatever it takes. He needs his moment, because even without Perthes’, his autism does isolate him quite a bit, but he never complains, he never moans or whinges — just gets up and carries on.
"He’s just the coolest little dude and he deserves something awesome."
A Givealittle page has been set up to help raise funds to get Cooper and his family to Denmark.
