At five years old, Kai was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment saved his life, but it meant losing one of his eyes. As he grew older, the comments from other children about his artificial eye chipped away at his confidence.
By his teens, the bullying had become unbearable, and his education had ground to a halt.
His mum Billy explained: “His school wasn’t that supportive about the bullying, they offered things but everything was a wait, but he needed the help now.
“He was going to school and threatening to lay in the road, that’s how much he didn’t want to face going in. I couldn’t face that risk.”
She took her son out of school and switched to home education. It worked well until Billy, a bilateral amputee, had to have major surgery.
“I was struggling, and Kai’s mental health was declining,” she said. “He said he needed friends, he needed to socialise and although we discussed him going back to school, he wasn’t keen.”
That’s when Billy was introduced to Darcey, a personal development coach from Inspire. During their sessions, she took them through some next steps in terms of education, and also focused on getting him back out there socially.
The change was almost immediate. “Straight away, he was coming out of his shell. I saw him happier than I’d seen him in a long time,” Billy said.
With encouragement from Darcey, Kai joined some clubs including a sewing group and one that includes doing arts and crafts and being out in nature.
“They even pick him up and drop him off,” she said. “Just that first step of getting him out of the house made such a difference. Before, he wouldn’t leave at all.”
He’s also starting at an independent training provider in September to study maths and English, with plans to move on to a regional college in Cambridge next year.
“Everything Inspire has done has helped so much,” Billy said. “I wouldn’t have known where to start. They’ve given Kai inspiration again.”
Find out more about our Personal Development Service Thrive here.
