Matthew Dawson

I am a paediatrician working at Great Ormond Street Hospital and first met Matthew Dawson as a newborn baby when he was brought in by his family. He had multiple abnormalities including heart defects, a critically narrow windpipe and bilateral leg deformities. As a toddler he had many operations including amputations of both his legs and complicated cardiac investigations and spent long periods of his early young life in hospital. He was often very breathless and the very effort of breathing could leave him blue and sweating. Despite all these considerable and often life threatening disabilities, he was always a cheerful, positive child. Throughout his childhood and teenage years he has strived against all these difficulties, playing competitive sport including cricket and table tennis and fully participating in life using two artificial legs. Now as a young man he remains an inspiration to all that he meets. Matthew's competitive spirit, his love of sport, his sense of community and sociability, his courage to rise above significant adversity and his triumphant handling of all the hurdles placed before him exemplify the Olympic ethos and make this admirable 16 year old, Matthew Dawson from Cambridgeshire, an ideal torchbearer for London 2012.