AN INSPIRATIONAL Stockbridge man moved students and staff alike at a school assembly.

Alex Lewis was a guest speaker at Salisbury Cathedral School on Monday, 5 March where he spoke about overcoming adversity and his extraordinary story since his life was changed in November 2013.

He contracted a streptococcal infection that led him to be close to death with his life saved only by amputating all four limbs.

At the assembly, Alex spoke about his journey, enduring 100 hours of surgery, over 30 skin grafts and months of rehabilitation and what followed as he, along with the support of his partner Lucy, son Sam, friends and family showed determination and dedication to achieve some remarkable goals such as kayaking around Greenland and a tandem skydive.

During his talk, the room was quiet, as the children listened with such concentration and respect and when the chance soon came to ask him questions and after a brief tentative moment, the questions came thick and fast.

Children asked how his beloved Labrador Holly had coped with the change in his physical appearance, as well as asking more practical questions about the working of his wheelchair.

Headmaster Clive Marriott said: “His visit to the cathedral school has truly been a gift and one that those of us who were fortunate enough to be present to witness his journey, will remember for the rest of our lives. His example, told through a gripping narrative, for both old and young, struck chords and found a deep resonance with every soul in the Big School Room. Personally, I was struck by Alex’s independent, charismatic spirit and his indomitable willingness to face another day. Adversity was not a word in his vocabulary.

“My biggest joy was to feel the warmth of his handshake and to see the sparkle in his eye.

“The pupils enthralled me with their blunt, honest and searching questioning, which ranged from the practicalities of stemming blood flow, with limbs amputated, to the more ethereal probing of how the experience had affected Alex’s faith.

“Alex’s answers were thorough and from the heart.

“Alex is a truly remarkable man and one whose charitable endeavours the Cathedral School will aim to support in the years ahead.”

To find out more about the charity work, go to alex-lewis.co.uk.