A Castlederg woman today (Wednesday) completed her 150 mile walk to Belfast, carrying her 11 year old disabled son.

Charlotte Caldwell has been fighting for treatment for her son Billy who suffers from a rare form of life-threatening epilepsy.

The eight day walk to Belfast culiminated in a meeting with doctors at the Royal Victoria Hospital if they can take over his care, using medicinal cannabis, from doctors in LA where Billy has been treated.

For the past 50 days he has been seizure-free thanks to a cannabis oil treatment he received in Los Angeles. Charlotte Caldwell, proud mother of her ‘wee warrior’, organised the walk to raise funds for Billy’s treatment.

“Medicinal Cannabis has given me back my right as a mummy to hope, but most importantly it has given my Epilepsy Warrior back his right to life,” Charlotte said.

The trek is also aimed at bringing Billy’s case to the attention of the Department of Health. The boy received the cannabis oil treatment for six months in America where he will soon return for a brain scan. However, Charlotte is fighting for her son to be treated in Northern Ireland on a full-time basis.

Charlotte has been keeping her Facebook page ‘Keep Billy Alive’ very much active since they began their trip to Belfast. Every day, the page is being updated with photos of Billy in the towns and villages that they are passing through.

On Day Four of the journey, Billy lost a tooth in Market Hill. His mother captioned the photo: “Lost! First tooth somewhere in Market Hill Town Street. If anyone finds it, please get in touch as wee warrior wanted to leave it under pillow tonight for the Tooth Fairy.”

The public has shown Billy and Charlotte amazing support, with messages such as “Keep going, you are amazing” and “You guys are wonderful, a true inspiration.”

On their way, Charlotte and Billy have been warmly welcomed by different people supporting the cause. The Police, Dr John Burton, locals and Mark McKelvey of the Ulster Herald, were all photographed alongside the boy.

Dr Burton commented on one of the photos: “Charlotte and Billy – you taught me more about being human that all my degrees in Medicine and Law. You are truly inspiring.”

The journey has been a great success so far, with thousands of people encouraging the team on the Facebook page. Over 13,500 people like ‘Keep Billy Alive’, with a neat increase in the number of people talking about it this week.