Meet Eddie, the super scooting Squirrel

Eddie’s supported by a charity called Childhood Tumour Trust. Every year, the charity marks ‘World Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day’ on 17 May.

In 2022, the charity challenged everyone to complete 5km to raise money and awareness, either by walking, running, scooting or riding.

Eddie excitedly shared the challenge with his friends at Squirrels, so they set a goal to cover 70km between the group. They smashed that target!

Just six members of the Squirrels Drey covered a fantastic 76km between them, with Eddie completing just over 18km of this himself.

Together, they all raised a brilliant £110 for the charity. We caught up with Eddie and his mum, Lauren, to find out more.

What do you enjoy most about Squirrels?

‘Playdough with my friends,’ Eddie said. His Squirrels Drey start every session playing with playdough and Duplo while waiting for everyone to arrive.

Lauren, Eddie’s mum, adds, ‘It’s always a big hit with them all, and it helps to break the ice a little when the kids are feeling a bit nervous or reluctant, as four-year-olds sometimes do.’

What did you really enjoy about your challenge?

‘Going really, really fast.’ Eddie says, with his mum adding ‘it's always more fun to do it as a team’.

Did you ever want to give up?

Eddie’s mum, Lauren, told us there were difficulties. Eddie has low stamina and his legs often cause him pain, either when being active or later on that day. The Squirrels spread the challenge over a week. However, on day three of the challenge, Eddie came down with Scarlet Fever. He was very poorly, but he didn’t want to stop taking part in the challenge. Eddie still begged to go out on his scooter, so Eddie and Lauren did, but just along the street and back.

What made you keep going even when it was hard?

‘I like my scooter. It goes really fast.’ Eddie smiled.