A POORLY boy given a Christmas treat after a tough year has decided to use it to buy his younger sister a gift instead.
The Grimsby Telegraph has teamed up with the Artie White Foundation for its 12 Days Of Christmas campaign, as reported, giving away Christmas hampers and toy vouchers to deserving members of the community.
One of the recipients of a £100 Argos voucher was 12-year-old William Hall, who has spent this year in and out of hospital after having his first anaphylactic shock last Christmas Eve.
Football-mad William, of Daubney Street, Cleethorpes, has always suffered from eczema and asthma but last year, a number of serious allergies set in, which could kill him if not treated with the EpiPen that he carries with him constantly.
William has also fractured his knee-cap this year, which meant having to endure a plaster cast which reached almost to his hip, and he ruptured his appendix, which led to four days of agonising pain and another operation.
Despite how difficult his year has been, when he was handed the voucher, the first person he thought of was his sister, nine-year-old Amillia.
"I'll get myself a little treat but I want to get my sister something really decent for Christmas," he said.
Mum Victoria Hall, 30, who is a full-time carer to William, said she was inspired by her son.
"It's been a really rough year for him, in and out of hospital, but he always stays upbeat and has a smile on his face," she said. It is tough for his sister, too, because he takes up most of my time, but they get on really well. William is off school more than he is there and he loves football and scooter riding like other kids his age but just hasn't been able to do that.
"He's been really unlucky this year with the fracture and the appendix operation but hopefully, 2013 will be better."
Despite his asthma and other illnesses, William did manage to score a goal playing for his Cleethorpes Academy school football team.
William explained: "We were five-nil up but I thought we needed another goal.
"I've only been able to play two games this season but hopefully it will be more next year."
Dave Boylen, Artie White Foundation co-ordinator, said: "What a fantastic kid – he was bouncing up and down and thinking about his family before himself, even though he has had a tough time.
"He's a very brave lad and lucky to have such a supportive family."
Fellow co-ordinator Debbie Boylen added: "It was very sweet that the first thing he wanted to do was buy his sister something."
