Mother and son walking to Belfast hospital appointment... from Castlederg

A Co Tyrone mother battling for legal access to medicinal cannabis in Northern Ireland has embarked on an epic trek to a hospital appointment with her son.
Charlotte and Billy Caldwell on their walk from Castlederg to BelfastCharlotte and Billy Caldwell on their walk from Castlederg to Belfast
Charlotte and Billy Caldwell on their walk from Castlederg to Belfast

Charlotte Caldwell’s son Billy suffers from intractable epilepsy, a seizure disorder in which a patient’s seizures fail to come under control with treatment.

Just one seizure could prove fatal and without the care he needed available in Northern Ireland, his mother took him to the USA for treatment.

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Since being treated with medicinal cannabis brought back from the US, Billy has been free of seizures.

Now Charlotte is meeting a consultant at Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on Wednesday to discuss her son’s situation.

So the pair are walking between their Castlederg home and the hospital in a bid to highlight Billy’s fight to access medicinal cannabis in Northern Ireland.

She hopes the move will also attract public support to her crowd funding campaign through her social media page, which seeks to raise £300,000 for a life-saving operation in Los Angeles.

Charlotte said: “Medicinal cannabis has given me back my right as a mummy to hope, but the most important thing, it has given Billy back his right to life.”