A disabled teenager who once begged to "go to heaven" because his pain was so unbearable finally has some relief thanks to a new hot tub installed in his home.
Spencer Powell turned 18 over the weekend and celebrated in the soothing warm water with friends and family.
Spencer suffered a foetal stroke when in the womb which led to him being born with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy which affects all four of his limbs.
Water is one of the only things that eases his pain and he was able to swim in a hydrotherapy pool before the Covid pandemic.
He also had a hot tub in his home in Staunton but sadly it broke, which mum Emma, 37, says severely worsened Spencer's condition, Gloucestershire Live reports.
"He told me 'I want to go to heaven. It is too painful to stay here' and he closed his eyes," she said last year.
"That broke my heart. I do not want him to go."
She issued a plea for donations to raise the cash for a new tub, and the community came through to mum and son's delight.
Spencer looks forward to knowing his mum can give him a relieving massage and physio each day after a dip in the hot tub.
She said: "We were so lucky to have been given the hot tub at half price by Hot Tubs Rock.
After that it was a case of getting everyone together when they were free to get the work done.
"A frame had to be built so the wheelchair could go straight out to the hot tub as there was a step down. We had hoped it would be done in March but I was done in time for Spencer's birthday.
"Spencer loved watching the work being done. He would be sat there looking through the patio doors at it all coming together and was almost like a project manager for the installation."
Emma has seen the almost instant benefits of Spencer being in the hot tub.
"Spencer goes into the hot tub the shape of his chair but when he is in the water his body almost unfolds.
"He has contractures where his bones are set but we are able to get him quite straight in the water.
"The first time he was able to get in after so long, he was so relaxed.
"We are so grateful to everyone who donated to Spencer to get the hot tub and to those who did the hard graft getting it put in, we really are."
