Romford decorator to take part in a boxing match to raise money for disabled son's therapy
He'll be entering the ring to support his son, George
A painter and decorator from Romford is to take part in a 'white collar' boxing match to raise money for his disabled son’s therapy.
George Poch, aged 5, has low muscle tone and struggles to walk far, he's tube fed, has a visual impairment, a heart defect, developmental delay and learning disabilities.
He was diagnosed with the rare Kabuki syndrome, which affects just one in 32,000, when he was one.
His dad Stephen, 36, is now planning to fight in a boxing match to raise funds to pay for the therapy which George attends: "All of the therapy he has - he has physiotherapy and he does horse-riding at the Chigwell Riding for the Disabled Association Centre - has helped him to grow and flourish so much and we want to keep that going.
"However, where we're paying for it, it's really difficult to maintain because of the high costs involved."
George spends lots of time playing with his brothers Charles, 9, and Harry, 7 and attending therapy sessions, such as horse-riding, which his mum, Kate, says is his favourite activity: ‘He looks forward to his riding sessions every week. Not only are they good for his muscle tone, especially his core, but also his communication and confidence.
"He gives the horse, Buster, instructions, and chats with the volunteers who say he’s really coming on. He loves it.’
Stephen says when he first announced his fundraising plans, some of his friends and family were surprised, but that he's had lots of support: "Some people were shocked to see the poster and that I'm doing this, but they know that I'm taking it really seriously and putting in all the graft and training for it.
"Now they can't wait to see me in the ring."
He says training isn't always easy, but his son keeps him going: "Whenever I don't want to do something, I think of George and his little life.
"It just gives you that extra motivation and inspiration to get up when you don't feel like getting up, when your whole body aches, to go out when it's cold in the morning, to practice all the disciplines that will help me go out there on the night and fight...
"He's had to overcome so much, but through his resilience and fighting spirit - even as he was born, he stopped breathing a few times, he was on oxygen and having open heart surgery - seeing him pull through that, fighting illnesses and all sorts of things, it made me realise I'm not just fighting for myself, I'm fighting for his life."
Ahead of the fight, which takes place on 28th May at The Circus Tavern in Purfleet, thanks to lots of support, he's feeling confident:
"It won't just be a victory for me or George, it'll be a victory for the whole community."