A BRAVE boy made a big splash for the charity which helped his sick sister in her time of greatest need.

Kieran Lawley, aged five, who struggles with his swimming and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger’s syndrome, completed 20 lengths of the baby pool at Evesham Leisure Centre.

The youngster of Deacle Place, Evesham, is trying to raise £1,000 for the ITP Foundation which helps people with the same blood disorder as his two-year-old sister, Tasha.

ITP, which has similar symptoms to leukaemia, stands for immune thrombocytopenic purpura and it is where the immune system attacks the body’s platelets, the cell fragments responsible for clotting.

Tasha developed the condition following two bouts of gastroenteritis and flu, suffering 92 bruises. Bruises are one of the symptoms of ITP.

Kieran’s mum Cheryl Keeley, aged 32, said: “He did really well. He completed it in quite good time and really enjoyed it. I’m very proud of him. Hopefully, we have raised quite a bit – we don’t know how much yet. All his teachers have sponsored him and his grandma.”

She said that the family also wanted to raise awareness of the blood disorder which few people knew about or understood.

She said: “I used to be a home carer and I had never heard of the condition until Tasha went down with it.

“Kieran had been looking forward to the swim when we first planned it but then he broke his collar bone.

“I said, ‘You can do it again’, and then he came down with chicken pox.

“If Kieran puts his mind to something he can be quite determined. He did most of it doggy paddle. We even had a race halfway through.

He said, ‘I’m going to beat you mummy’.”

The ITP Foundation provides support and information to patients, their families and health professionals and the website receives no external funding. Kieran’s family would like people to support the charity, either by sponsoring her son or by donating to the charity.

For more information, visit itpfoundation.org.