Inspirational Harry from Salisbury receives national Award

Salisbury boy Harry Byrne collected his prestigious national 2022 WellChild Award, in association with GSK, at the Hurlingham Club in London on September 8th, having been nominated by his Great Aunt, Lorraine Lunn.

The Awards are run by WellChild, the national charity for seriously ill children. The charity’s Patron, The Duke of Sussex, was called away to Balmoral and so could not attend the WellChild Awards ceremony with his wife, the Duchess, as planned. The news of Her Majesty’s passing broke just as the awards ceremony was about to take place. In a change to the scheduled proceedings, there was a short silence as a mark of respect, followed by a rendition of The National Anthem from opera singers Natalie Rushdie and Camilla Kerslake. The winners then all came onto the stage as a group to receive their awards.

Harry, agreed eight, who looked after his younger brother Reuben who had a very rare brain condition that limited his life span, was picked from hundreds of nominations from across the UK to win the category of Caring Child in these Awards, which celebrate the resilience of children living with serious illnesses or complex conditions and honour the dedication of those individuals who go the extra mile to help these children and their families.

Harry is described as a big-hearted, big-spirited little boy who is very caring, unselfish, and full of boundless energy and enthusiasm for life. Harry cared for Reuben, whose condition was so rare it does not have a medical name, and only about 20 cases have been recorded, including that of Harry’s eldest sister Olivia. She tragically also died of the condition before Harry was born. The condition meant Reuben had no swallowing reflex and had to be fed by a peg/tube going directly into his tummy. He also had a stoma bag and could not speak or walk. In addition, the condition was slowly shutting down the nerve receptors in his body, and seizures were a regular occurrence.

Harry helped his parents with the everyday tasks needed to keep Reuben comfortable and happy, such as entertaining and playing with him so that Reuben felt loved and included. In addition, he was aware of the warning signals when Reuben was about to have a fit and would warn his parents and then rush to get the oxygen to help him.

Harry came up with the idea of fundraising and first wanted to swim with sharks. But instead, he did a 45-mile walk, most of it in the cold and snow, to raise awareness of Reuben’s condition and raise funds for the hospices that looked after Reuben and supported the family.

Next, he created a much more significant challenge, inspired by Harry always telling Reuben he loved him to the moon and back. Unfortunately, the distance to the moon was too far, so they decided to race twice around the moon with the help of friends and family, who were called moon trekkers, with 16,000 miles worth of challenges.

Harry took Reuben on as many challenges as he could, creating the most amazing memories; their final mile was on a specially adapted bike, where Harry rode with Reuben. Harry ran, walked, skipped, cycled, swam, danced, in fact, anything that could rack up the miles. Harry’s nominator says he was an absolute inspiration to everyone else involved.

Some of the challenges were extremely tough, including a Stones to Stones challenging 30-mile walk in one day, Avebury to Stonehenge. Harry and his friend were joined by their dads, and they completed the challenge within 12 hours!

Harry didn't stop there despite already exceeding all expectations with his Race Around the Moon. He decided to lend Santa a hand and created a “Christmas Wish” to provide presents for children and young adults spending Christmas at the hospices. He wrote his brother Reuben’s Christmas letter to Santa: 'Dear Santa, for my little brother Reuben, I would like him to have the best year and all of his friends at the hospice, please. I can help you; love Harry.'

Starting with donating his £2.50 from the Tooth Fairy and a further £11 from his own pocket money, Harry’s Christmas Wish has now received just under £7,000 from supporters, plus bags of toy donations. The donations were divided between several local charities in time for Christmas.

Unfortunately, Reuben never got to open his present as he passed away five days before Christmas. Instead, Harry climbed into his bed like he did every morning, stroked his hair, and sang to him; in that heartbreaking moment, Harry promised Reuben he would climb a mountain in his memory. Harry and his family completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks in April to help Harry fulfil his last promise.

Harry’s Great Aunt Lorraine, who nominated him for the WellChild Award, said: “His confidence has grown, and it shows in his radio and television interviews. All the family are extremely proud of Harry and wonder what he will come up with next! Please not swimming with sharks, Harry!”

WellChild Chief Executive Matt James said: “We were so pleased to be able to celebrate our remarkable winners at The WellChild Awards 2022, in association with GSK, despite the unique circumstances this year. It was a chance to recognise and highlight the immense challenges they have faced and to celebrate the remarkable positivity, resilience, and spirit they have demonstrated. It also helped us to shine a light on the dedication of those around them, from siblings, professionals and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to help them through such challenging times.”