Chloe Lewis Calls For Law Change Following Son's 'Heartbreaking' Ice Skating Injury
Former TOWIE star Chloe Lewis has shared more about the ice skating injury her son Beau, six, suffered on New Year’s Eve.
The youngster was ice skating in the afternoon when he fell over and someone ran over his finger with bladed skates, which the mum said “took his finger off”.
He underwent three-hour surgery to try and reattach the finger, which seemed to go well, but weeks later it became clear that it “didn’t take”.
Chloe is now petitioning for a change to the law that would see it become compulsory for children to wear safety gloves when ice skating to protect their hands.
The reality star, 35, who shares Beau with her ex partner Danny Flasher, told HuffPost UK: “After Beau lost his finger on New Year’s Eve, our world changed in an instant.
“The trauma of that day will stay with me forever, and watching him being put to sleep for surgery is something no parent should ever have to go through.
“It was absolutely heartbreaking.”
Last week she shared details of the family’s ordeal with her social media followers, as well as a link to the petition, which at the time of writing had almost 20,000 signatures.
The post prompted a wave of support, including from former TOWIE co-stars.
Ferne McCann commented: “Gosh I’m so sorry this happened. Brave Beau. I’ll be signing the petition.”
Lauren Goodger added: “Wow I’ve signed and sending you both so much love! Well done in this but I do hope your [sic] both ok and can’t imagine how hard this has been.”
Chloe said she is “asking for everyone’s support” in signing the petition. She hopes to garner 100,000 signatures so the issue will be considered for debate in parliament.
“Making gloves compulsory for children while ice skating is such a simple, practical step, but it could prevent devastating injuries and stop other families from experiencing the pain and trauma we have,” she told us.
“I want to turn our experience into something positive. I truly hope that one day I can tell my little boy that his bravery and strength helped bring about change and protected other children from suffering the same fate.”
As for Beau, Chloe said her son is “doing so well” and is now back at school.
In her social media post last week, Chloe explained that because his finger didn’t take, they are now waiting for it to “fall away naturally”. If it doesn’t, he’ll need another small operation to remove it.
In the meantime, the family is having weekly hospital check-ups. Chloe ended: “At the moment, it’s just a waiting game to see how everything heals, but we’re staying positive and hopeful.”
You can find Chloe’s petition here.