Little Taylor Lewis, from Nottingham, contracted a Meningococcal Septicaemia type W, a deadly form of meningitis, as an infant in April 2015.

He survived after having undergone more than 76 operations but lost all his fingers and both his legs in the process.

Even then, Taylor displayed his affinity with physical instruments by learning how to use his prosthetics just weeks after leaving the hospital. However, his limbs became painful in 2019 because of his growing body requiring more operations to adjust his prosthetics.

Watch him skateboard below.

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Video credit: Rumble

But the young fighter was not content to stay in a wheelchair and learned how to use the skateboard both inside the house and outdoors.

Taylor’s mom Terri Lewsley, 26, is understandably proud of her son’s strength in defying the odds.

Terri, a former inventory clerk, said: “He can get some speed on the skateboard, even using it in the kitchen.

“I saw it online and had to buy it – it’s not a full-sized one, but one that’s perfect for him.

“He’ll lie down on his tummy and use his hands to navigate his way around.

“He’s gone outside on it, and whilst he has taken a tumble on it before, he loves it and it gets him moving.

“It gives him some of his independence back, which is really important to him – he underwent operations on his hands recently so he can now feed himself, get dressed and brush his teeth.

“Taylor is determined to not let anything hold him back, and so for him, it seems the more activities he can do, the more dangerous they are, the better.”

When he first contracted meningitis, doctors gave then eight-month-old Taylor only hours to live but he instead came out of his coma after 17 days.

Despite his disability, Taylor is determined to stay mobile and loves being outdoors, which his mom just loves to see.

She added: “It was the worst day of my life when doctors prepared us to say our goodbyes, his legs were black and he was hooked up to every machine possible.

“I just prayed he would pull through and after surgeons amputated his left leg, toes, and fingers on both hands, he started to improve and smile again.

“He was given his prosthetics four weeks after being discharged in 2015, and a few weeks later he was able to stand and take those first few steps after gaining his balance.

“I was so happy I could have cried when he stood up for the first time, Taylor is the biggest fighter I have ever known, he’s amazing.

”He’s never been one to ask for help or complain but the pain is clearly getting to him as he’s spent the past ten months in a wheelchair.

“Yet now he skateboards, he loves to go from room to room, preferably as fast as he can, and will knock into you if he can.

“He is still the same cheeky kid he always was.”

Everything changed for Taylor on the night of April 20, 2015. He was put to bed as normal but Terri noticed he had a temperature in the early hours of the morning.

She said: “He was boiling hot but was shivering as though he was cold, after dialing NHS Direct with his symptoms, I was told to call an ambulance.

“But after going to hospital Taylor seemed to perk up and we were sent home, at first I was relieved but this was short-lived.

“What happened next was just the start of our nightmare, once back home he went downhill and wouldn’t eat or drink.

“When back in hospital his limbs started to turn black as his whole body began shutting down, it was terrifying.

“It was the biggest relief of my life when he started to improve, even though it had left him with life-changing damage to his legs and hands.

“I knew he would need his left leg amputated along with his toes on his right foot and fingers but all I cared about was him surviving.

“He was always such a happy, smiling baby before he was diagnosed and that didn’t change.

“Taylor has amazed doctors with his fighting spirit and although he’ll need operations on his scar tissue for most of his life, I know he’ll manage just fine.

“Having been stuck in a wheelchair for the past ten months we’ve felt like we had gone a few years backward – but we’re hoping that as his pain becomes manageable, and with the hope of a garden renovation, we can get that progress going again.

“I’m just so proud of him and the ways he manages to adapt every time there’s a setback.

“At the minute he’s happy on his skateboard but I’m hoping that in the future he’s be fitted with full-length prosthetics and blades that will enable him to be active as he wants when he gets older.”

 

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