A young boy from Lévis is a source of inspiration for his family and loved ones, he who is preparing to run the 10 km event at the Marathon Beneva de Québec next October, when the doctors left him very little chance of walking.
Deprived of oxygen at birth, Thomas Cosson has retained sequelae that do not prevent him from biting into life.
“Early on, the doctors diagnosed him with cerebral palsy. When he was a baby, we didn’t know how it was going to evolve,” shared Geneviève Patry, Thomas’s mother.
The young boy, who will be 12 next August, is preparing for a major challenge, namely that of running the 10 km event which will take place in the fall, in Quebec.
Despite his physical disability which affects his gait and language, Thomas has normal intellectual abilities and he is more than determined to meet this challenge.
Without knowing it, Jean-François Pichette, occupational therapist and president of the Clinique Hippo-Action, was the spark plug for this project.
Mr. Pichette, who worked with Thomas for several years, witnessed his impressive progress.
Unforgettable moment
“I call him my little warrior. Despite the challenges he has to face, which are much greater than for the majority of people, he shows incredible resilience and boundless strength of character,” said Mr. Pichette.
In 2018, Mr. Pichette ran a marathon with Thomas in a stroller, since he was only 7 years old at the time, but the young boy walked the last 200 meters, under the encouragement of the crowd present at the finish line.
This experience lit stars in his eyes and last year Thomas ran again with interspersed periods of rest in the stroller, but without being officially entered in the race.
“This year, no stroller. I’m going to have my own bib,” shared the young athlete who is training in anticipation of this big day with his godmother Annick.
Friends and relatives formed a small group to run with him to cheer him on.
In addition to his new passion for running, Thomas, who attends Desjardins School in Lévis, has also been playing dek hockey for several years.
“I am so proud of my son, launches the mother. As parents, we often had fears, but he always thwarted the odds, both at school and in sports.
“What we’ve learned in all of this is that you shouldn’t rely on medical prognoses all the time. There is always a way, with hard work, to go further,” added Mr.me patry.