A little boy was diagnosed with a life changing disease after his parents noticed a common symptom.
Rory Bentley was just 18-months-old when his dad, John Bentley, 38, and mum, Kerry Bentley, 38, noticed he couldn't walk properly and often had his legs give way from underneath him.
Rory, now four, has recently started primary school with him taking each day as they come.
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John, from Port Sunlight who works at an Aldi distribution centre, told the ECHO : "When he was about 18 months old we noticed that he wasn't working how he should be.
"He was crawling a lot and he would fall over a lot. He had a real weakness on one side. We went to see so many doctors and GPs just to try and get an answer but they just kept saying he had a delay.
"It wasn't quite right so we kept going back and forth. We ended up going private to see a consultant in London who did a report saying that we needed to ask for DNA tests.
"We did them and it came back that he had muscular dystrophy so that took around a year and a half to do so he was three-years-old when we found out he had muscular dystrophy.
"When we got told the diagnosis it was around the time of the first lockdown and my wife, Kerry, had to go into Alder Hey all by herself to get the news while I waited outside in the car.
"It's been just over a year now. They gave us the details to Muscular Dystrophy UK charity who have helped us and supported us if we needed any details or information and gave us any guidance on what to do or who to speak to.
"They put us in touch with other families and people who have muscular dystrophy because it's quite a rare condition and there's different varieties."
John and Kerry first noticed the tell tale symptoms when he would try to walk, with him also being tired from little activity.
It was easier to spot for both the parents as they'd had their first child, Thomas, just a few years before Rory.
John told the ECHO: "He would would get very tired very quickly. He would just be walking along and his legs would literally give way and he wouldn't have the strength to go up and down the stairs.
"He managed to cope quite well and he masked it. If it wasn't pointed out to you you wouldn't know any different because he masked it so well.
"His body counterbalanced itself. You just thought he was fine, but once it was pointed out to you, you would realise he masked his movements.
"You also notice it more when he was next to children his age, how he does struggle, his balance is off, he can hardly jump. He goes to jump off the ground and he can only get as high as an inch and a half because of how his muscles are.
"There are noticeable differences but he does what he can and tries to do his best.
"He gets tired quickly, especially now he's in school full time. By the time it gets to around 1pm, he will have a rest on a beanbag in class. His teachers and the school have been amazing."
John, and wife Kerry, a childminder, are now raising money in partnership with Muscular Dystrophy UK.
John is set to do a skydive with him needing a minimum of £400 in donations.
For more information and to donate, click here.
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