Lewis' Story...

I am immensely proud to be a Myton Ambassador. From the moment Myton entered our lives, I knew that if I ever had a platform to promote their incredible work, it would be an honour to do so.

I have set myself the ambitious goal of raising £1 million for Myton throughout my career, and I will stop at nothing to do it

My family and I were fortunate to experience the very best of what Myton offers our community and if I can help more people access their support, then I have done something right.

In 2020, my dad, Bob, was diagnosed with a lung and heart condition and his health started to deteriorate. At the time, I was getting prepared to train for the Paris 2024 Olympics and had an upcoming tournament that could pave the way to the Olympics.

However, my dad’s health worsened in late 2023, and the Myton at Home team visited him three times a day where they cared for him in his home during his last month with his family.

The Myton team were brilliant with Dad and they couldn’t have made it any easier for us or him at what was an incredibly difficult and emotional time.

They provided real dignity and they have hearts of gold. The standard of care they showed my dad and us as our family was exemplary and nothing like any of us had experienced before. As an ex-nurse, my mum was especially grateful for their love and kindness.

But what means the most is the time they gave us with dad.

I was due to compete in a tournament when Myton got involved and, luckily, one of the nurses had a boxing background and he knew what I was going through. He pulled me aside and told me that time was running out.

He didn’t tell me to miss the tournament but he was honest about what was happening. So, I pulled out of the tournament and stayed at home with dad.  My sister and I would do shifts sleeping beside him because we never wanted him to be alone.

Dad died in January 2024, aged 71, surrounded by his loved ones It was a sad Christmas for us but I am so glad I did it. If I had been away at that tournament, I would have missed him.

As hard as it was going through it all, I know I would be in a far worse state if I had been elsewhere when he had gone.  I’m just glad I got to spend that time with him. I was able to dedicate proper time to him because I knew it was precious and running out.

Of course it was horrible, but we spent it as best as we could, together. Boxing rules your life, you miss birthdays, weddings and funerals, training is everything.

Whilst it was a hard decision in some ways to miss the Olympics, for me it was a no brainer – I’ll always have a career but I will only get one dad. I owe my boxing journey to my dad, he was the one who took me out of Scouts and into the boxing gym, and he was an inspiration even when he was very ill.