UPDATED: Pain relief increased as brave Lewis Mighty fights on

A CLOSE friend of Lewis Mighty’s family has praised the youngster’s courage in his heartbreaking cancer battle.

Stuart Holness spoke out as the seven-year-old defied expectations that he had just a few hours to live.

Lewis had been thought to be recovering from a rare cancer, called neuroblastoma, but his family were told last week it had returned and spread to his vital organs.

Tonight his distraught mum Jaime wrote on the Lewis Mighty Fund Facebook page: "Lewis remains comfy at present...sadly his pain relief has been increased. He is unable to talk to me know to tell me if he is in pain. I feel so useless. He's so tired and needs to be free now. No mother should EVER witness her baby like this."

Last night, the family wrote: "Lewis is very comfortable...he spoke to me and Perry for 16 hrs yesterday non stop. He cleared his amazing mind and gave me so so much inner peace. Today he hasn't spoken much and has slept most of day.....I know he can hear me and although his eyes are closed i feel a massive bond that requires no words. I will treasure every smell, taste and memory of my beautiful beautiful boy. I can barely breath my heart feels like it will stop."

Lewis is being cared for in Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, where he was in pain.

Mr Holness said: "I feel helpless. I just don’t want him to be suffering any more. He’s done everybody proud by getting to this stage but there’s only so much someone should go through."

Mr Holness, who is a trustee of the Lewis Mighty Fund, said: “Lewis has lasted longer than expected but that doesn’t surprise us because he’s so strong. He’s not giving up. But it’s just a matter of time.

The family also revealed that they have sent a message to the makers of the TV programme Planet Earth live, suggesting they name their lioness Lew, in honour of Lewis.

They wrote: "How fitting that they are looking for a name at this moment for a brave and courageous creature like Lewis."

Lewis’s plight has attracted the support of hundreds of people.

On Saturday, prayers for a miracle were said by more than 250 well-wishers who gathered at a candlelit vigil in Mackworth district centre.

The following evening, Lewis made his last wish – for his beloved dog, Rupert, to be brought to his hospital bedside.

That same night, Chinese lanterns were lit across the city simultaneously.

One observer posted a touching description of the scene in Mackworth on the Derby Telegraph website.

They wrote: “I saw old people, young people, children in their PJs.

“Mackworth was united in hope and prayer for a special young man and his family, who have been fighting and working through bad times for a good many years.

“Dozens of lanterns battled the elements and rose slowly into the night sky.

“Catching the gusts and raising up, they, like the people below, stuck together.”

Throughout the recent weeks, mum Jaime and her friends have kept the community updated about Lewis’s condition via the social-networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

Mr Holness said it was “admirable” that they had done so.

He said: “I don’t know where Jaime finds the strength.

“And it’s overwhelming to see the amount of messages and even videos that have been posted by well-wishers on Facebook.”

Lewis was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2008 and, the following year, a fund was set up to raise cash for him to get specialist care in America.

But, last year, his family announced that care in the USA was no longer the best course of action for him.

A decision about where to spend the cash raised will be made by the family in the future.

Beloved pet taken to hospital bedside for Lewis's final wish