Kick-boxing belt for cerebral palsy girl

Doctors said Sinead would never be able walk

A south Wales schoolgirl with cerebral palsy has stunned her doctors by taking up the tough sport of kick-boxing, after being told she would never be able to walk when she was a baby.

Twelve-year-old Sinead Lurvey, from Cwmbran, is partially paralysed down one side of her body, but has won her first belt just eight weeks after going into the gym.

I see her now at 12 and think she is amazing - she is my hero

Sian Lurvey, Sinead's mother

Sinead was seven-months-old when doctors told her parents she would be disabled by the physical condition which affects movement as a result of an injury to the brain.

But she started kick-boxing earlier this year, when her mum Sian Lurvey began a class.

"I wanted to take the class and Sinead told me that she wanted to come too," said Ms Lurvey.

"I didn't think she could do it - she was always covered in plaster and everyone thought it was crazy.

"If her specialist was here, he'd tell you what she does is impossible," added the 38-year-old mother-of-two.

Sinead, who attends Cwmbran's Llantarnam Comprehensive, is now training three times a week for two hours and has been asked to help encourage other children with cerebral palsy.

"She has got a lot of guts and determination and has overcome a lot in her 12 years," said Ms Lurvey.

"I see her now at 12 and think she is amazing - she is my hero."

Determination

Sinead now has her sights set on her yellow belt, despite her constant need for medical attention.

Sian Lurvey also attends the class

"They're going to break her right leg to make it the same length as the left," said Ms Lurvey.

"They did say the older she gets she is supposed to get worse, but she is not actually - she is doing very well.

"She gets very tired even just walking up and down the stairs but she has always been determined to keep doing the same as other kids."

The Kempo Ryu karate and kick-boxing club in Cwmbran is run by master Anthony Groves, who said Sinead's motivation was "incredible".

"She just gets up and does stuff she's not supposed to do.

"It's a credit to herself and others," he said.