Watch the joy on this disabled boy’s face as he is able to walk and play football… thanks to a harness on his dad
The emotional footage has been shared over 90,000 times on Facebook
THIS is the incredible moment an overjoyed disabled boy is able to walk - thanks to an amazing harness attached to his dad.
The father and son, who are unidentified, can be seen playing football in the garden, as the harness holds the child upright against his dad's body and straps their feet together, to simulate walking.
The adorable little boy looks ecstatic, smiling, laughing and squealing, to the delight of those around around him.
Unsurprisingly, the heartwarming footage has gone viral - amassing over 90,000 likes on Facebook and over 5000 comments from well-wishers.
Carolyn Gosnell Beason wrote: "Thank you Dad for letting your son be normal for a while. What we take for granted makes some children ecstatic. That smile says it all."
Meanwhile, Mike Graves added: "This blessed me so much watching this young man laugh and have a good time. We sometimes take things for granted, and lots of times we will complain and murmur about life.. but seeing this filled my heart with joy and tears. I thank God for seeing this."
The harness worn by the little boy is the 'Firefly UpSee' - which was invented by Debby Elnatan, an Israeli mum who wanted to create a solution for her son Rotem, who was just a toddler when she had the idea.
Although doctors warned that too much physical activity could worsen Rotem's cerebral palsy, Debby, a music therapist, persevered in her quest to improve his quality of life.
She told Today: “I understood that Rotem’s sitting in a carriage was not going to get him far. Disobeying his therapists’ recommendations, I started to facilitate Rotem ‘behind their backs'."
Eventually, she came up with the UpSee, as simply hunching over her son to hold him upright caused terrible backache.
She added: “I wanted to be standing upright while Rotem was upright and I wanted his hands free for play and exploration.
“By the end of the year, we could walk two hours.”
Debby used the device with her son until he was 7 year old, perfecting it as he grew up. Then, the incredible product was finally launched to the mass market in 2014, after Debby secured Northern Ireland-based company Leckey as a manufacturer for her prototype.
At the time, Debby explained: "When my son was two years old, I was told by medical professionals that 'he didn't know what his legs are and has no consciousness of them'.
"That was an incredibly difficult thing for a mother to hear. I started to walk him day after day, which was a very strenuous task for both of us.
"Out of my pain and desperation came the idea for the UpSee and I'm delighted to see it come to fruition."