Wigan man Josh overcomes health obstacles to fulfil dream of graduating

An aspiring Wigan film director has continued to defy the medical odds by attending his graduation ceremony.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Josh Waywell, 23, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease which has resulted in him using a wheelchair and needing support for most daily tasks, including a cpap machine to help with his breathing.

After graduating from UCLan last summer, he finally had his degree conferred upon him this month.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was in his final year when the pandemic struck and family say he found it very difficult to focus and nearly walked away. But with the support of the university he dug deep and managed to finish, achieving a first-class BA Hons in Film and Media Studies.

Josh Waywell at his graduation ceremony earlier this monthJosh Waywell at his graduation ceremony earlier this month
Josh Waywell at his graduation ceremony earlier this month
Read More
Wigan and Leigh Short Film Festival unveils this years line-up

“Because it is such a big industry, it has been difficult for him to get his foot on the ladder.

“Since finishing his degree, he’s been catching up on films and documentaries and doing research into films he wants to create so he’s kept himself occupied.”

Josh recently did a podcast with the charity Action Duchenne called Music and Me which is out in November. It features Josh alongside two other young men, discussing their passions when it comes to music and film.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He’s found doing the podcast really useful as a starting point and now wants to set up his own podcast and start writing scripts and producing some short films and see how it goes from there,” said Liz.

“With the physical side of his condition, he can’t do things like camerawork so it is more about the ideas and letting his creative side run free.

“He’s got so many ideas, probably too many!”

During the pandemic, Josh was classed as extremely vulnerable and his family are continuing to shield in order to protect him.

Recently he went on his first outing to the cinema since February 2020 to see the new James Bond film.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Liz said: “We’re still being extremely careful. Up until the other week, we had only been out for hospital appointments.

“There was a lot of anxiety with how we were going to do things but he enjoyed it.

“We were shocked that we were the only ones wearing masks.

“It was like we’ve come out of lockdown and it has all been a bad dream, but we will continue to only go to places when it’s quiet to protect Josh.”

The Wigan Observer is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. For unlimited access to Wigan news and information online, you can subscribe here

Related topics: