THE mother of a schoolboy who underwent life-changing surgery in the US is furious after a £2,000 wheelchair specially designed for her son was badly damaged on their flight home.

Five-year-old Thomas Brennan, his mother Jodie Bussey, sister Eve and grandfather John Nelson arrived home in Ushaw Moor, County Durham, on Friday after a “nightmare”

14-hour journey back from St Louis, Missouri.

Their flights were delayed, they had to sit apart and, on arriving in Amsterdam, they discovered Thomas’ specially designed, Spiderman-themed wheelchair had suffered a buckled front frame during their flight from Detroit, Michigan.

Miss Bussey said: “I was so disappointed at the airline.

I’ll need a lot of paper for the complaint that’s heading their way.”

She fears the wheelchair, which was delivered only days before Thomas flew to the US early last month and was not insured, is damaged beyond repair. It was donated by the charity Action For Kids.

A spokeswoman for the airline involved, KLM, said: “KLM takes care of its passengers and their luggage carefully.”

In a further blow for the family, a £2,000 treadmill ordered more than three months ago has not arrived, potentially harming Thomas’ rehabilitation.

Thomas’ spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, which he called his “crazy legs”, left him in constant pain, often unable to walk more than few steps. He travelled to the US after more than £40,000 was raised to pay for pioneering surgery, rare in the UK.

The youngster faces months of physiotherapy, starting today, but is already able to walk some distance unaided.

Miss Bussey said: “He’s doing amazingly well. He’s building his strength really fast.

“He’s nowhere near the strength he was (before the operation) but he’s already standing one-and-a-half inches taller and his legs are so straight it’s unreal. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“Even with all the nightmare of getting there and back, it was the best decision I could have made for Thomas.”

Medics cut into Thomas’ spine and severed a nerve, causing spasticity in his legs.

To support Thomas, visit justgiving.com/help-thomasreach- the-moon-and-stars