Frankie Penfold, aged 10, walked his mother Hannah down the aisle on her wedding day in April 2023, defying doctors who told his parents he would never sit up, hold his head up, crawl or walk, and that he was only expected to live until his teenage years.
Frankie was born with SUCLA-2 mitochondrial depletion syndrome, an inherited disorder affecting early brain development. He is mildly deaf and cannot hold up his head or walk independently. Using machines with harnesses, he strengthened his muscles over five years to achieve the milestone.
His mother, Hannah, a fundraising assistant from Weston-super-Mare, said there was not a dry eye in the house as Frankie walked her down the aisle, followed by his siblings Penelope, six, and Teddy, four. "I'll never forget that moment, for the rest of my life," she said.
The diagnosis came before Frankie's first birthday after a series of tests. His parents were both found to carry a faulty gene. Hannah described the news as "heartbreaking" and said she was not prepared for it.
Frankie trained for five years using physiotherapy machines at Gympanzees in Bristol, particularly a device called the Upsy which allowed him to weight-bear with a harness. Hannah said his eyes "just beamed" the first time he stood up.
On the wedding day, Frankie was not nervous and was "absolutely beaming". Hannah said: "All the struggle, all the love, all the joy - I can't put it into words."
