At Home Superheroes Sponsored By Irwin Mitchell To Be Screened On Channel 4 This Month

A budding actress with cerebral palsy has shown she will not let her disability stop her from achieving her dreams after taking part in the At Home Superheroes Powered By Marvel event.

Jevonne Parsons from Portsmouth was born three months prematurely, in 2007, weighing just over one kilogram.  She was diagnosed with Group B Streptococcal meningitis shortly after her discharge from hospital.  A few weeks before her first birthday, Jevonne developed epilepsy. 

When she was two, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which affects all her limbs. Law firm Irwin Mitchell is helping Jevonne access the specialist support and therapies she requires because of her condition. She also has severe learning difficulties and requires a wheelchair both indoors and outdoors.

However, Jevonne, now 13, remains positive and refuses to let her disability stop her from doing what she wants.  After showing an interest in acting, Jevonne’s mum Sherry helped her apply to an agency advert on Facebook.  This led to her television debut starring in BBC drama MotherFatherSon alongside Richard Gere in 2018.

More recently, the youngster has been determined to develop her sporting ability by signing up to At Home Superheroes Powered By Marvel.  The month-long challenge replaced the annual Superhero Tri – the UK’s only mass-participation sports series dedicated to people with disabilities – as a result of participants having to stay at home due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.  Highlights of the event will be shown on Channel 4 on 15 August.

Jevonne and Sherry are involved in the event through sponsor Irwin Mitchell.

Expert Opinion

“Jevonne and Sherry are so positive and engaging, and are an absolute delight to know.

What they have been through is incredibly stressful and I have a lot of admiration for the way the family copes under such circumstances.

It’s heart-warming to see Jevonne’s family supporting her to achieve her dreams. We hope that Jevonne inspires others and proves that disability should not be a barrier to achieving your ambitions.”
Justine Spencer - Partner

At Home Superheroes took place from 15 June to 15 July, with participants invited to set a challenge distance and complete it from anywhere, from their living room to their garden, and in any way, such as walking, running, swimming or wheeling.

Jevonne opted to take on a variety of activities which included her own home sports day, with school friends and neighbours invited round to enjoy the socially distanced challenge.  She also completed 63 bounces on her trampoline and took part in wheelchair walks around the park to her favourite songs.

Sherry, 43, said: “When we were first told of Jevonne’s cerebral palsy, it was a big shock.

“However, she has gone to achieve so much and we are all so proud of her.

“We decided to take part in At Home Superheroes as it is a great platform for disabled people to demonstrate and develop their sporting abilities. Jevonne is always looking for something new to do and challenge herself, and this was perfect.

“We have had so much support along the way and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been a part of Jevonne’s journey so far.”