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10 | THE REVIEW MAY–AUG 2023 New season equals new goals The pool, the slopes, the give-it-a-go attitude – there’s no stopping Luka. By MELANIE LOUDEN If you’re looking for Luka Bloomfield, chances are you’ll find him in one of two places – the swimming pool in summer or on the slopes of the Remarkables or Coronet Peak in winter. The 10-year-old Queenstown lad lives with Cerebral Palsy and competes against able bodied children in the pool, and loves participating in adaptive snowboarding. He’s also keen to get out on his bike and his stand-up paddle board, and enjoys kicking a football around. Luka was born at 32 weeks and his birth was “traumatic”. It affected his oxygen levels, Above top: Luka Bloomfield is in his happy place when he’s on the slopes. Above: During summer, Luka switches the snow for the pool. leading to a diagnosis of Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy when he was 3. “Luka was 18 months old when he started walking,” says mum Carla Bloomfield. “He would fall a lot and struggled with balance.” The family was referred to a pediatrician and after being with the pediatrician and a physiotherapist for half an hour, it was clear that Luka had Cerebral Palsy. In the early years, Carla and Luka’s dad Adam, didn’t tell their son about his diagnosis. “Luka was around the age of eight when he came to us and said ‘why can’t I do things other boys my