Boy fundraising for ‘stoma bears’ to help other children

Beth said they first realised something was wrong with Riley at eight weeks old when he was admitted to hospital with a urinary tract infection and later bacterial meningitis.

“He spent the next few weeks hooked up to antibiotics and fluids. His tiny veins kept collapsing from the cannulas,” she said.

“Nothing is harder as a parent than seeing your child so poorly and being unable to help them,” she added.

Beth said Riley later recovered, but at six months old, tests discovered his left kidney was scarred, his right had reflux and there were also issues with his bladder.

Referred to Bristol Children’s Hospital, he was diagnosed with Posterior Urethral Valves (PUV), a condition found only in boys that affects the urethra (the tube which runs from the bladder to the outside).

Riley has undergone 11 surgeries, including a vesicostomy – adding a type of stoma allowing urine to drain from his bladder into a bag – in August 2020 when he was two years old and had experienced multiple infections including sepsis.