Derbyshire dad set to run 200 miles for Alfie, 3, who bravely smiles through cancer treatment

Lee Freeman, 43, from Barlborough, will attempt to run 200 miles around Rother Valley Country Park in just three days.

Lee, who is set to start his challenge next Wednesday (May 29) will be raising funds for Footprints charity, which has offered support for Alfie Mitchell.

The pre-verbal three-year-old with Down Syndrome has inspired Lee with his bravery and positive attitude while battling leukaemia.

Lee, who has been friends with Alfie’s dad, Chris Mitchell, for many years, said: “I’m inspired by how brave and tough Alfie is at such a young age. He is going through so much and he manages to smile through all without even showing an ounce of self-pity. It's incredible.

"The biggest lesson I've learnt from Alfie is to be grateful for what you do have rather than focusing on what you don't have, and I think if everybody could do that, world would be a much kinder place.”

Last year Chris ran 101 miles in 24 hours in memory of Lacey and John Paul Bennett, who were murdered along with their mother and friend in Killamarsh.

This year’s challenge will be twice as long and to prepare for it, Lee has completed an intense five-month training camp, which included running up to 100 miles per week, as well as mindset and sleep deprivation training.

He said: “The toughest part of this is that I will be barely sleeping in three days and I will have to keep going when everything in my body just wants to rest and sleep. But the pain I could go through completing the challenge is nothing compared to what Alfie goes through every day.”

Lee, who has a five-year-old son, Logan, added: "After hearing about Alfie’s diagnosis, I instantly wanted to do something to support Chris and his family. As a parent, you cannot physically imagine what that must feel like to hear that your child has been diagnosed with leukaemia. So many parents take their children and their health for granted.

"Stories like this humble me and ground me, reminding me just how precious life is, how grateful we should be and how much so many of us take for granted, especially having a young son myself.”

The last few months have been very difficult for Chris and his family. Alfie has been poorly since October when he was diagnosed with suspected meningitis and sepsis. But the treatment he was receiving was not making him any better and after further tests carried out in November revealed Alfie had cancer.

Chris said: “He wasn’t getting any better even after antibiotics and we noticed that he had a bit of a rash. I took him to hospital and initially the doctors through it was just a bit of a viral rash. But they kept doing more tests and just before midnight they told us he had leukaemia. It was absolutely awful.”

The next day Chris took Alfie to the children's oncology ward at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham and the three-year-old started chemotherapy. But the treatment affected him severely and his vocal cords became paralysed as a result. Because of this Alfie had difficulty breathing and his family, including his brother Teddy, 5, were forced to spend Christmas in the intensive care unit.

Chris said: “Alfie was meant to be home for Christmas but unfortunately because of the problems with breathing he had to go back to the hospital. We managed to get Christmas dinner from a pub across the road on Christmas Eve and we ate it off our knees in the hospital. We had to lie to our five-year-old that it was Christmas Day, not Christmas Eve.”

Since December, Alfie has undergone further chemotherapy courses and at the beginning of this year, he was also given a new clinical trial drug – offered to children with Down Syndrome, whose leukaemia is classed as higher risk.

Chris said: “We've been in and out of hospital continuously since November. Until May, the most time we have managed without him having to go back to the hospital for one reason or another was five nights in a row."

On the night when Alfie was able to stay at home, Chris was sleeping on a mattress on the floor next to his bed just in case he felt worse and needed to go to the hospital suddenly.

At times when he has been feeling better, Alfie has enjoyed cuddling and watching TV. His favourite shows include Mr Tumble and films from Monsters Inc universe.

Chris said: "He is very brave and tries to smile as much as he can. Chemo has affected him a lot and he has been really poorly at times. But he always does his best to fight and hold on until he is knackered.”

But the treatment has been effective and recent tests have confirmed that Alfie is now in remission. While he is getting better, he is set to continue chemotherapy until January 2026.

Chris said: “We're not out of the woods yet, but everything's looking positive at the minute. We will be able to give him some of his medicine at home and if everything goes well, he will have chemo once a month at the hospital.

"He's been at home for about a week now after coming from the hospital following a lung infection. The other morning, he looked so happy when he realised he was at home with his family.”