Support joy for parents of baby with missing limb

The family of a baby boy born without a lower left arm say they have been “overwhelmed” by the support they have been offered by others.

The parents of 10-month-old Arthur Roberts, from Anglesey, want to raise awareness and show their son he is not alone.

Elliw Williams and Ilan Roberts, both 25, hosted an event for people with limb differences and were delighted that more than 30 people attended an event in Parc Glynllifon country park in Gwynedd.

"Arthur is so young and we don’t know what’s ahead of us, but to have so many people locally who are going through something similar is amazing," said his father.

Arthur's mother said: “It’s so lovely to see everyone and that they’ve come to support.

"North Wales needs more events like this.”

Lois Jones's son, Alun, was born without his right arm below the elbow, and she went along after seeing a social media post.

"We have been members of charities that have hosted events like this before but they’re almost always in England," said Ms Jones, from Llanllyfni, Gwynedd.

"And for Alun, whose first language is Welsh, it can be hard to interact with the children there.

"So, for him to have an opportunity like this to mix with other children like him through the medium of Welsh is just amazing.”

The event was supported by LimbBo, a charity based in Barnsley, Yorkshire, which aims to support children with a limb difference, and their families.

It was set up by husband and wife Adam and Katie Dengel after they found out their son Tommy was going to be born with a limb difference.

Ms Dengel said: "At an early scan for Tommy we were told he was going to be born without his right arm.

"We were quickly ushered into a room and told we only have so many weeks for a termination.

"We knew we were never going to do that, and we just felt there was a lack of support out there.

"There is nothing wrong with these children."

Since LimbBo was set up in 2018 numbers attending its annual camp in Barnsley have leapt from about 20 to more than 600.

For Tommy, the chance to play with children like him has helped.

He said: "People barely ever get the opportunity to meet up with people with missing limbs and so it’s great to make new friends and help each other with it all."

Arthur's parents hope to host another get-together soon and grow the support group in north Wales.

His mother said: "To make this an annual thing, or even a little more often that that would be brilliant.

"For Arthur to have regular opportunities to play with other children like him would be amazing."