A dad is donning a leotard and skirt and joining his daughters' ballet class to raise money for his favourite charity.
Lewis Hughes’ two daughters are part of TheatreBug, a dance school in Hackbridge which is run by Zoe Hodges.
Zoe has run the dance school for the past ten years, and each year she invites dads to join in on the class for Father’s Day, and the mums on Mother’s Day.
Lewis has joined in on previous Father’s Day classes in the past, and this year Zoe thought of a way for him to join while also raising money for his chosen charity: Great Ormond Street.
Zoe explained: “Lewis' wife and I concocted this plan that he is going to do the class with his daughters, but to put a more interesting twist on it, and make it something a bit more unusual, he will be doing it in the full uniform, the leotard, the skirt, and the headband.”
Great Ormond Street is a charity that saved Lewis’ life, according to his JustGiving page.
Lewis shared with Your Local Guardian that he was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (a rare muscle disorder) when he was seven-years-old.
Initially, it had been ignored and undiagnosed by GP for several weeks.
Soon after, he was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital where he stayed for six months.
Lewis would repeatedly fall over and be unable to use his arms to stop himself, as well as having to physically push his jaw shut to be able to eat, as the muscles did not work.
Doctors were concerned about Lewis’ heart and told him that if he hadn’t been admitted to them when he was, there was a high chance that he would have died.
The doctors had said that if he had not been admitted to them when he was, there was a good chance he would have died.
Lisa, Lewis’ wife, set up the JustGiving page to see how many people would sponsor him to join in on a class with his daughter in the full uniform on Tuesday, May 21.
Zoe described Lewis as someone who is “very much up for a laugh” and decided to heighten the humour by making him stand out.
Zoe added: “So I provided him with the leotard and skirt and everything so that he’s dancing in the girls’ version of the uniform rather than the boys more modest version.”
Lewis is aiming to raise £500 by May 21, and, as of April 23, £145 has been raised.
Lewis said on his JustGiving page that “any amount, big or small, would be greatly appreciated to help fund the amazing work this charity do in helping save the lives of children and supporting families through their worst possible time,” and added that the Great Ormond Street is the “only charity you’ll catch me in a leotard for.”
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