Award for teenager's bravery after losing his sight

A teenager from Wyton has received a special award for his bravery and resilience after undergoing emergency surgery when he lost his sight suddenly last month.

Joshua Chiocci, 15, was named Little Trooper of the Month by the national military children’s charity Little Troopers.

Doctors are optimistic that Joshua, whose dad serves in the army at RAF Wyton, will recover his sight but his family are still waiting for test results to come through. 

The youngster, who was described as showing “amazing strength”, is combating neurofibromatosis, a condition which causes tumours to grow on his nerve endings and has led to him developing scoliosis as well as having some learning problems.

In September he lost vision in his right eye and was found to have a detached retina which required emergency surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said: “The Little Trooper of the Month scheme is about recognising military children who have been exceptionally brave and when we saw Joshua’s nomination it was clear that he has shown amazing strength and resilience.

“We hope that winning this award makes him feel proud of being a Little Trooper.” 
Mum Emma said: “He has dealt with so much in his life and he never complains. He just takes everything in his stride and keeps on smiling. 

“In fact, he’s dealing with it all a lot better than I am! He was scared to have the surgery but he was so brave and did amazingly well. He is our hero.” 

Joshua will receive a medal, certificate and a £50 voucher as part of his award.
Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting children who have parents serving in the British Armed Forces.

The charity has a number of initiatives and resources that parents and schools can tap into to help support military children including a new podcast for teenagers called SQUAD which was launched in September and is presented by television and radio broadcaster Katie Thistleton.
It features the voices of 15 military teenagers who share their experiences and talk about what life is like growing up in the armed forces community.

Further information is at www.littletroopers.net