Gervase Phinn: Teenage kicks hard to beat

I received a very heart-warming letter last week. Mrs Todd has a son with Down's Syndrome called John, 14, a softly-spoken, gentle-natured young man who attends a special school where he is very happy and making good progress.

On Saturdays it is their custom to walk to the park to feed the ducks and often they would see a group of boys about John's age playing football on the nearby sports field. John would look in the direction of the boys and he didn't have to tell her that he would have loved to have joined them.

"Perhaps I am a little protective of him," wrote John's mother, "but we steer well clear of the boys.

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"There have been some unpleasant moments in the past when youngsters have made fun of him, fortunately something John didn't understand but which upset me deeply."

On one Saturday she became conscious of the three boys who played football behind her on the path. She moved to the side with John to let them pass. As she turned a corner, the boys were waiting for her. Her heart sank and she gripped her son's hand tightly.

"We've seen you a few times," said the biggest of the boys. "You come to the park a lot, don't you?"

"I do," she replied, a tremble in her voice.

The boy looked at John. "Do you want a game of footie?" he asked. "No, I don't think so," replied John's mother quickly. "Yes, I would," said her son, smiling widely. "What's your name?" the boy asked.

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"John." "Come on then, Johnno. You can be in the centre". "The boys could see that John had a disability," she wrote, "and I was frightened for my son. Then something very touching happened. I watched as they allowed John to join in the game, making it easy for him to get the ball and allowing him to score a goal. Hot and tired, John was brought back to me by one of the boys, his arm around my son's shoulders. The look on my son's face brought tears to my eyes."

Teenagers do get a bad press at times and we tend to forget that there are many, many caring and compassionate young people who come from loving homes and are a credit to their parents.

In contrast to this incident was one related by the Falklands war hero Simon Weston who survived the airborne attack on the RFA Sir Galahad in Bluff Cove, with 46 per cent burns which left his face barely recognisable.

"My first encounter which was a really low point," he wrote, "was when they wheeled me into the transit hospital at RAF Lyneham and I passed my mother in the corridor and she said to my gran, 'Oh mam, look at that poor boy' and I cried out, 'Ma, it's me!' and as she recognised my voice, her face turned to stone".

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After receiving such horrific injuries, Simon suffered psychological trauma, began drinking heavily and attempted to take his own life. With the support of his mother and Glen White, who coached the Welsh Guards' rugby side, Simon was "forced to face up to the unavoidable and to be positive about everything including especially my future."

After months of reconstructive surgery including 79 major operations and surgical procedures, Simon Weston faced the world. One day walking though Cardiff he was approached by a woman. "I don't think you should be out," she said. "You frighten people".

YP MAG 7/8/10