Parents Of Sick Tot Lead Double Lives As His Favourite Superheroes - And He Thinks They're Real
There’s parenting goals, and then there’s this pair.
Kat and Bryn are the parents of Frankie Bowen, who suffers from juvenile arthritis and is often hospitalised and left in pain by the condition.
But the couple devised a brilliant plan to keep his spirits high, by taking turns to dress up as his favourite superheroes, Spiderman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ‘Michelangelo’.
They keep the costumes hidden from Frankie in the garage of their home in Runcorn, Cheshire - and Frankie is said to be ‘speechless’ every time he’s visited by a superhero.
Kat, a 26-year-old account manager, said: 'Frankie is absolutely Spiderman and Ninja Turtle crazy. He even asks to be called Spiderman when he’s in hospital and says he’s the ward superhero.
'We bought the costumes because we wanted him to know how special he is. Bryn wears the Spiderman outfit and I’m Michelangelo.
'The first time Bryn walked in dressed as Spiderman, Frankie was just obsessed. He said, “The real Spiderman is in my house!”
‘He was so overwhelmed and couldn’t control his emotions. It made him speechless, so he just went and got his Spiderman toy to show the 'real’ Spiderman.’
'We think it’s a lovely way to put a smile on his face when he’s been brave. If he’s had antibiotics or been in hospital at Alder Hey, one of us will dress up and pretend we’ve come to visit Frankie at home. It makes him so happy.
‘Sometimes Frankie has really sore knees, so in costume one of us will give him a hug and rub his knees for him. He definitely thinks we’re the real thing.
'We hide the costumes in boxes in the garage and have to sneak off to get changed. I can’t wear the Spiderman suit because my hair extensions would stick out, and Bryn can’t wear the Michelangelo outfit because it’s only five foot tall.’
Frankie started walking with a limp when he was just 18 months old, but wasn’t diagnosed with juvenile arthritis until Christmas of last year.
He requires regular steroid injections in his knees, and also regularly suffers from eye infections and conjunctivitis.
After deciding that Frankie need a surprise to lift his spirits, they bought their costumes online for £150 each.
Kat said: ‘When Frankie first developed a limp, nobody knew what it was. Then in August, he collapsed randomly and couldn’t walk. We were picking him up and he was falling to the floor. He had eye infections too and we knew something was wrong.
'At first they thought it was a bone infection, but when he collapsed again just before Christmas they were able to diagnose him.’
‘Frankie’s our little superhero. On the children’s ward, some of them are really poorly and Frankie worries about them all the time. He even asks if he can bring other children home with us.
‘He said he wanted to be the hero on the ward, so he’s doing a sponsored 3km walk to raise money for Alder Hey. He’s already raised more than £700 so that the other children can have more toys on the ward.’
He’s the tiny hero that we all need.
