Boxing match to raise funds for poorly youngster with fighting spirit

Caiden Wakerley has the rare disease juvenile idiopathic arthritis and, since his diagnosis last year, he has also developed mixed connective tissue disease, lupus, and myositis.

Mum Dawn set up a Facebook page "Caiden’s chance - Help save our little boy" and is raising money through a Go Fund Me page to take him and the family to Italy next week where Dawn says doctors have a more advanced understanding of rare illnesses as a result of research undertaken in the country.

Mum-of-three Dawn (41) and family including husband Graham (38) have been involved in various fundraising events across the country to raise money with the last event before they set off on Sunday at the Bench Buddy Arena in Eastwood.

Dawn, from Preston, said: “Caiden has to take ten tablets a day and has injections in his thighs every week.

“Doctors have told us that, without advanced intervention, Caiden might lose his ability to walk soon and unfortunately without treatment he may not live to see 20-years-old.

“We have had so many challenges, more medications, and more hospital visits.

“Our hearts sank with each new finding, but Caiden's spirit has remained unspeakably strong.

“We need to get our boy to Italy to get him into remission and have been raising the funds to get us there.

“On Sunday (November 3) there will be the first Caiden’s Fight Boxing event with a mixture of bare-knuckle, gloved and hybrid boxing and all money raised will be donated to Caiden’s Chance.

“It starts at 1pm at the Bench Buddy Arena and is very much a family-friendly event – Caiden's siblings will be there selling cupcakes and keyrings! – so while people might tend to think of boxing as rowdy events in the evenings this is different.

“It is during the day and families and children are very welcome.

“There will be 40 fighters from up and down the country taking part and we are very grateful to them as well as all the team at Bench Buddy Arena.

“It will be our one last push to get the funding we need to get to Italy and I hope as many people as possible in Rotherham join us.”

To book tickets visit https://combatpass.co.uk/etn/caidens-fight-charity-boxing-event/

To find out more about Caiden's Chance visit https://caidenschance.co.uk/ and to donate go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-caiden-by-getting-him-to-italy.