14 DAY TRIAL // Louie Jenkins was just six months old when he was diagnosed with meningitis and had to have both his legs, left-hand fingers and right-hand fingertips amputated. The boy was given prosthetic legs, but even so, doctors weren't sure he would be able to walk.
Louie's six-year-old sister thought it would be worth trying to make the boy walk by tempting him with gummy bears, and to the whole family's surprise, it actually worked. The toddler was so determined to get his hands on the treats that he stood up on his prosthetic legs and walked across the room to get the sweets.
The two-year-old boy fell ill in 2012 after contracting meningitis and had to have his legs amputated, leaving him bound to prosthetic limbs. The toddler's parents were devastated at the thought that their son could never walk like a normal child, and will have to deal with a heart-breaking condition his whole life.
After one year of trying to make the boy walk, his sister Francesca was the one that finally succeeded with the use of her brother's favorite treats. While standing across the room, the girl enticing the toddler with gummy bears managed to bring tears into her parents’ eyes at the sight of the boy making his first steps.
“Doctors told us Louie may never walk, but we always remained positive because even though he was still so young we could already see how much of a determined little boy he was,” Julie Jenkins, the boy's mother says, according to Daily Mail.
After months of trying to convince the child to walk, his sister thought that sweets may do the trick and convinced her parents to help her out. While Louie's mother was holding him on the opposite side of the room, Francesca and her father were holding up a bag of Haribo sweets on the other side, to encourage the boy to try his new legs.
The plan worked as the determined toddler stood up and started walking towards the gummy bears, under his family's teared-up eyes. The emotional moment left everyone speechless and despite the current setbacks, chicken pox and eczema, the family is now more positive and determined, looking forward to seeing Louie grow up.
In order to manage the costs required to offer Louie the equipment needed, the family made an appeal to all those kind-hearted people willing to help by donating money to the “Little LAMB” (Louie's Amazing Meningitis Battle). The Jenkins raised almost $50,000 (€36,000) from donations and built a special downstairs wet room and bedroom for the toddler.